The rental market in the UK has become extremely busy and competitive. Tenant demand by the end of 2022 increased by 7% compared to 2021 and went up by 53% compared to pre-pandemic 2019. As a result, rental prices have also increased by over 4% across the UK. With an average of 13 prospective tenants for every available rental property, landlords and letting agents need to make sure that all compliance checks and processes related to tenants are completed quickly.
In addition to a quick solution, they also need a secure and efficient system like Amiqus, to conduct identity verification, right to rent and other compliance checks. Amiqus offers a full suite of checks in line with the latest regulation that can be conducted digitally and remotely on prospective tenants.
Verifying a tenant’s right to rent
One of the most important checks that needs to be carried out before a tenancy starts is the right to rent. Letting agents are legally required to check the immigration status of tenants who will be living in the property. The temporary Covid-19 adjusted measures of conducting right to rent on video call or via emailing identity documents, ended in September 2022.
Now to prove the eligibility to rent, agents and landlords in England have two options:
- Use a certified identity service provider (IDSP) which uses identification document validation technology (IDVT), to digitally check the right to rent of British and Irish citizens
- Conduct manual face to face checks
Failure to comply with the new right to rent requirements can lead to an unlimited fine or prison sentence of up to 5 years. Hence, it is beneficial for agents to use a certified IDSP to ensure thorough verification of identity documents and reduce risk of fraud.
How can Amiqus help?
As a UK government certified identity provider for right to rent, Amiqus allows agents to carry out digital checks on their clients remotely and easily, without having to meet them in person. At Amiqus, we support a number of lettings and property businesses to simplify their right to rent checks.
“Amiqus has made the process of running checks so simple and efficient, not to mention all the paper they’ve helped us save too. Checks are processed rapidly and the data is safely stored in one place so we don’t need to worry about filing.”
-Umega Lettings
Amiqus can also help with other checks and processes required for vetting tenants, such as credit checks, references, source of funds etc. Amiqus offers an accredited end to end approach covering all aspects of identity verification and digital back office management. The result is a fast, simple and secure digital process for both agents and their clients.
Streamline all processes and store all data in one place
In addition to checks, accreditation and use of government standard IDVT technology, there are some specialist Amiqus features that letting agents may find useful, such as:
Custom forms: Custom forms can be used to gather any information from the tenant, securely through an encrypted platform, instead of over email with inherent risks that come with that.
Secure document transfer: Documents can be sent to/from tenants with ease via the embedded document transfer functionality. This can be done multiple times, at no extra cost. All documents are automatically scanned for viruses, and nothing reaches users unless it is safe.
Simple integration: Amiqus can be used as a secure, efficient, stand alone system or can be easily integrated with your existing tools and databases.
Audit trail: Maintaining an audit trail is essential, particularly when many firms still process paper forms and hard copies of personal documents. Amiqus securely holds all documentation and data in one place.
If you’re looking for a trusted partner to support your business in managing remote and digital right to rent checks and other checks for screening tenants, get in touch with Amiqus today.
