Updates to Rightmove’s Referencing
The core elements of our referencing process remain unchanged, as they are already aligned with Renters’ Rights and provide strong risk mitigation while supporting a fair and accessible tenant journey.
Below is a summary of how we’re updating our referencing service to support your business in the evolving lettings landscape.
Renters’ Rights Ready:
Late Rent Policy
With rent in advance no longer compliant under the new legislation, we’ve introduced a more structured, transparent approach to assessing late payment patterns, so we are better able to identify potential problems.
- Moving away from reliance on rent in advance in order to overcome issues with affordability
- Criteria aligned with Rent Guarantee policies so referenced tenants can be covered
12-month income assessment
Applicants on a fixed-term contract must be able to evidence income for at least the first 12 months of the tenancy, as evidence of income stability.
- Requirement for 12 months confirmed future income from a flexible approach that increases risk to periodic tenancies.
- Aligning fixed-term and self-employed income requirements with existing approaches for temporary and zero-hour income.
Guarantors
Guarantors can still be employed to reduce risk in situations where concerns arise regarding an applicant’s income or history of late payments.
Optional add-on:
Digital ID verification
You can now add Digital ID Verification to your references for a more robust confirmation of applicant identity, for extra confidence in your potential tenants.
- Optional add-on with a reference
- Completed by tenants and guarantors as part of a reference
- If applicants hold U.K or Irish passports, we’ll instantly verify their right to rent
- Powered by Veriff
Coming soon:
PEPs and Sanctions dashboard
Tenant PEP and Sanction checks are already included in all Rightmove references, but from end of May 2026 you’ll be able to conduct standalone checks on landlords within Rightmove Plus.
- Order your landlord PEP and Sanction checks in Rightmove Plus
- On average, checks takes up to 10 seconds to complete and return a result
- Downloadable PDF report for your records
Digital Income Verification
Rolling out from May 2026, we’ll be offering affordability verification that is significantly more precise and difficult to fake.
- Includes Open Banking, HMRC data and payroll details
- Powered by Konfir