Goodlord has strengthened its income checks to give landlords and letting agents instant access to verified data.
The aim is to prevent fraudulent tenancy applications, reducing insurance claims, and delivering smoother, more secure referencing.
All eligible applicants undergoing tenant referencing through Goodlord’s platform will be required to confirm their income by giving landlords and agents secure access to either an open banking connection, UK payroll software or HMRC throughthe Government Gateway.
These are referred to as “Trusted Sources.”
ADDRESSING FRAUD RISKS
While 88% of eligible tenants already connect their applications by choice, Goodlord said some elect to confirm their income by manually uploading documents such as payslips or bank statements.
These documents can be forged or manipulated, meaning applications completed in this way pose a greater risk of fraud and thus increase the potential for tenants who have provided false information to fall into arrears, the platform warns.
Tenants who are legitimately unable to use Goodlord Trusted Sources will still be able to verify their incomes through alternative routes.
BEST PRACTICE
Nishma Parekh, director of referencing at Goodlord, says: “This isn’t about making referencing tougher for the sake of it, it’s about taking what is already best practice and making it the standard for everyone. When prompted, the vast majority of tenants already choose to use Trusted Sources, because they know it leads to faster, more secure and fairer decision-making.
“Making this a compulsory step means speeding up the process for tenants and reducing the admin burden on landlords and agents – giving them direct access to verified information, without the need for endless cross-checks.
“We know that payslip fraud is on the rise across the sector, causing real, lasting damage to landlords and agents. Making Trusted Sources the standard won’t just allow them to make better decisions about who they rent to in the first place, it’ll also give them the peace of mind that if something does go wrong with a tenancy, they’ve done all they can to ensure that income checks have been made correctly.
“Fraudsters will continue to try and avoid these checks, but the change we’re making today will make it much more difficult for them to slip through the net.”
MODERNISING FRAUD CHECKS
The technology is first being pioneered by London estate agent Martyn Gerrard.
Greg Tsuman, managing director of lettings at Martyn Gerrard, says: “Our clients – and the protection of their most valuable assets – have always been our number one priority. When we recognised fraud attempts were becoming more frequent and sophisticated, particularly with fake AI-generated documents, we pushed for stronger safeguards and worked with Goodlord to design a solution.
“Traditional referencing checks that were effective 10-20 years ago are no longer fit for purpose. By mandating Trusted Sources verification, using open banking, HMRC or payroll data, we’ve helped create a process that keeps it easy for genuine tenants to prove affordability while making it significantly harder for fraudsters to slip through the net.
“We’ve always believed prevention is better than cure and are proud to be driving these improvements, which will help shape an approach that benefits the wider industry.”
