The flat is empty, the agent has three applicants, and the owner in Riyadh is asked to choose. Two things frame choosing a tenant from abroad that most owners do not know: the right to rent check is the landlord’s own legal duty, with a civil penalty that runs to £20,000 a tenant, and since May 2026 the law forbids several of the ways landlords used to choose. The agent runs the process; the owner carries the liability.
Owning and letting
Choosing a tenant from abroad: referencing, the right to rent check, deposits and what the Act now forbids
Who chooses the tenant when the landlord is abroad
A landlord abroad chooses the tenant on the agent’s recommendation, but the decision and the liability stay with the landlord. The right to rent check must be done before the tenancy starts, with a civil penalty of up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for a repeat. Referencing costs £30 to £60 per applicant, with income usually 30 times the monthly rent. Since 1 May 2026, rental bidding, more than one month’s rent in advance, and refusing families or benefit claimants are all unlawful.
The landlord, on the agent’s recommendation. A full-management agreement delegates the process but not the decision or the liability; the agent conducts the checks as the landlord’s agent, and if the checks are wrong the landlord is the one the Home Office or the council fines. The owner should therefore see the referencing report and the right to rent record before approving, not just the applicant’s name. A good agent sends both as a matter of course; our ten questions for agents in choosing a letting agent include it.
Right to rent check before a tenancy starts
Every landlord in England must check, before the tenancy starts, that every adult who will occupy the property has the right to rent in the UK: a British or Irish passport, settled or pre-settled status checked online, a visa with a share code, or the Home Office’s landlord checking service for others. The check is of the original document or the online record, with the person present (or by video with the document sent), and a record kept; time-limited rights need a follow-up check before they expire.
Penalties for letting without the right to rent
Letting to someone without the right to rent carries a civil penalty of up to £10,000 for a first breach per occupier (£5,000 per lodger) and £20,000 for a repeat, and in knowing cases a criminal offence. The agent does the check and gives the landlord the record; a landlord abroad who has not seen the record has not been protected.
Tenant referencing: cost, income multiple and credit checks
A referencing report, from the agent’s referencing company at £30 to £60 per applicant, should show: identity and address history; employment and income, usually from the employer and payslips, with a rule of thumb that annual income should be 30 times the monthly rent (36 for some agents); a credit check for county court judgments and insolvency; the previous landlord’s reference; and, for a student or a non-earning applicant, a guarantor referenced to the same standard or rent paid by an employer.
Company lets and referencing reports with gaps or judgments
A company let, where a business takes the tenancy for its staff, is referenced on the company’s accounts and is outside the assured-tenancy regime, as our Renters’ Rights guide explains. A report with a gap, a county court judgment or an income that fails the multiple is a reason to ask, not necessarily to refuse.
Tenancy deposit cap, protection rules and holding deposits
A tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent (six where the annual rent exceeds £50,000), must be protected in one of the three government-approved schemes within thirty days, with the prescribed information served on the tenant; a landlord who fails can be ordered to pay up to three times the deposit and cannot serve certain notices. A holding deposit before signing is capped at one week’s rent and is applied to the tenancy or returned. The agent holds and protects the deposit in the landlord’s name and the landlord should hold the certificate.
What the Renters' Rights Act forbids landlords and agents
Since 1 May 2026 a landlord or agent may not: invite or accept rent above the advertised figure (rental bidding is banned); take more than one month’s rent in advance once the tenancy is agreed, or any rent before it is signed; refuse an applicant because they have children or receive benefits, or instruct an agent to; refuse a tenant’s reasonable request to keep a pet without good reason; or grant a fixed term, since all tenancies are periodic.
A landlord abroad who tells the agent “no families, no DSS, six months’ rent up front, and I want the highest bidder” has asked for four unlawful things in a sentence and should expect the agent to say so.
How to choose a tenant lawfully without discriminating
A landlord may choose on affordability, references, credit history, the quality of the guarantor, the applicant’s proposed start date and length of stay, and the overall picture. A landlord may not choose on protected characteristics (race, religion, sex, disability, age and the rest), on children, or on benefits, and the Act adds the pet request to what cannot be refused without reason.
How tenant selection works in practice through your agent
In practice the agent recommends the strongest referenced applicant and the owner agrees; where two are equal the earlier applicant is the usual tie-break. The reasons for a refusal should be the referencing, in writing, kept on file; a refused applicant can complain to the redress scheme and, for discrimination, to the court.
Inventory, safety certificates and written terms before move-in
Before the tenant moves in: a professional inventory and check-in report with photographs (£150 to £300), without which a deposit claim for damage fails; the gas safety certificate, the electrical installation condition report, the energy certificate and the government’s “How to Rent” guide given to the tenant; the deposit protected and the prescribed information served; and the written statement of terms the Act requires for every new tenancy, which the agent’s agreement now includes. A tenancy that starts without these documents is one the landlord cannot easily end and cannot recover costs from; the agent’s checklist is the landlord’s protection, and the owner should ask to see it ticked.
Sources: Check your tenant’s right to rent (GOV.UK) · Tenancy deposit protection (GOV.UK) · Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act (GOV.UK) · Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (legislation.gov.uk) Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about choosing a tenant from abroad
If the agent did it correctly, recorded it and gave you the record, yes; the agent is acting for you and you remain liable if it was not done. Ask for the record with every new tenancy.
No, not since May 2026; one month in advance at most. A guarantor, or rent paid by the parents monthly, is the lawful alternative.
Only with a reasonable ground, such as the lease forbidding pets or the flat being unsuitable; you may require pet insurance. A blanket refusal is no longer lawful.
A civil penalty of up to £10,000 for a first breach per occupier (£5,000 per lodger) and £20,000 for a repeat, and in knowing cases a criminal offence. The check must be made before the tenancy starts, of the original document or the online record, with a record kept; time-limited rights need a follow-up check before they expire.
The rule of thumb is annual income of 30 times the monthly rent, or 36 for some agents, evidenced by the employer and payslips. A student or non-earning applicant needs a guarantor referenced to the same standard, or rent paid by an employer. An income that fails the multiple is a reason to ask, not necessarily to refuse.
Five weeks’ rent, or six where the annual rent exceeds £50,000. It must be protected in one of the three government-approved schemes within thirty days, with the prescribed information served; a landlord who fails can be ordered to pay up to three times the deposit and cannot serve certain notices. A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent.
No. Since 1 May 2026 a landlord or agent may not invite or accept rent above the advertised figure; rental bidding is banned. A landlord who asks the agent for the highest bidder has asked for something unlawful and should expect the agent to say so.
No, and a landlord may not instruct an agent to. Since 1 May 2026 refusing an applicant because they have children or receive benefits is unlawful, as is choosing on protected characteristics such as race, religion, sex, disability or age. A refused applicant can complain to the redress scheme and, for discrimination, to the court.
Affordability, references, credit history, the quality of the guarantor, the proposed start date and length of stay, and the overall picture. In practice the agent recommends the strongest referenced applicant and the owner agrees; where two are equal, the earlier applicant is the usual tie-break. Reasons for a refusal should be the referencing, in writing, kept on file.
A professional inventory and check-in report with photographs (£150 to £300), the gas safety certificate, the electrical installation condition report, the energy certificate, the government’s “How to Rent” guide, the deposit protected with the prescribed information served, and the written statement of terms the Act requires. Without them the landlord cannot easily end the tenancy or recover costs.
