Almost a million CCJs registered in 2025, and landlords say referencing has never mattered more

Under the Renters' Rights Act, Section 21 has gone and advance rent is limited to one month, so landlords can no longer rely on financial buffers once a tenancy has started. The checks made beforehand are now their most important protection.

The survey shows how landlords are responding. The most common answer, given by 41.7%, was that they rely on their letting agent to handle referencing. A further 37.4% said referencing has become significantly more important since the advance rent ban, and 7.8% said slightly more important. Only 13.1% said it had always been their main consideration and nothing had changed. In total, almost nine in ten landlords either see referencing as more important than before or leave it to a professional agent.

Asked for the single most important factor in deciding whether to accept an application, 40.6% of landlords chose employment status and income, and 38.8% chose the referencing report from their letting agent. Between them, those two answers account for nearly eight in ten landlords. Previous landlord references, credit history and gut feeling were all well behind. Verified financial evidence and professional referencing are now at the centre of how landlords choose tenants.

For tenants, the picture is more reassuring. Some 82% say they have always passed referencing without any problem. Among those who have been refused, the most common reason was income level (4%), followed by employment type (2.2%) and credit history (1.6%).

Asked whether rigorous referencing works for both sides, 36.8% of tenants said it benefits landlords and tenants equally, since thorough checks can stop tenants committing to a tenancy they can't sustain. Another 21% said it benefits landlords more but gives tenants some benefit too, and 25.9% saw it purely as a way of protecting landlords. Landlords who use professional agents are broadly positive: 41.7% say professional referencing gives generally or consistently better results than other methods, and only 3.3% say it performs worse.

Allison Thompson, Chief Lettings Officer at Leaders, part of LRG, said: "With advance rent no longer available, referencing has moved from being one tool among many to being the most important decision a landlord makes before a tenancy begins. The volume of CCJs and adverse credit markers in the population is rising, and landlords are right to take the referencing process seriously. But the data also shows something encouraging: most tenants pass, and thorough referencing done well protects both sides. It confirms affordability for the tenant as much as it protects income for the landlord. That is where professional agents add real value – running a process that is rigorous, fair and documented, and that gives both sides confidence before the tenancy starts."

You can download the full report here.