Nearly half of landlords across England and Wales say tenant referencing has become more important since advance rent payments were restricted, according to Leaders (part of property group LRG)’s Summer 2026 Lettings Report, based on 717 landlords and 860 tenants surveyed and reported by Property Reporter. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, Section 21 “no-fault” eviction has been abolished and advance rent is capped at one month — removing the large up-front payment landlords could previously hold as a financial buffer once a tenancy begins.
The survey found 41.7% of landlords rely on their letting agent to manage referencing, the single most common answer; 37.4% said referencing has become significantly more important since the advance-rent ban and a further 7.8% said slightly more important, while only 13.1% said nothing has changed. Asked to name the single most important factor in accepting a tenant, landlords put employment status and income first (40.6%), followed closely by the letting agent’s referencing report (38.8%).
The backdrop: Registry Trust recorded almost 1.02 million new consumer County Court Judgments (CCJs) in England and Wales in 2025, up 11.6% year-on-year and the highest annual total since 2019; separate LexisNexis Risk Solutions data found 3.14 million UK adults (6% of the adult population) carry at least one CCJ or other adverse credit marker, against a private rented sector of 12.9 million people. On the tenant side, 82% say they have always passed referencing without issue.
For a landlord letting a UK property today, the practical read is that pre-tenancy referencing — not a large rent deposit — is now the main risk-management tool; Leaders’ chief lettings officer Allison Thompson said thorough, professionally run referencing protects both landlord income and tenant affordability.
References
Property Reporter – Landlords put tenant referencing first after advance rent ban
