Welcome to Home Relief Bulletin Board!

Post No. 251

by Your Freelance e-Property Letting Agency

How to check your landlord’s/lady’s identity

This week, we are going to work with renters/tenants on identity matter so that they can know or be able to check who is their real landlord/lady or the person they are contracting with. 

Δ Renters’ and prospective tenants’ proof of identity

Often, renters and prospective tenants have to prove who they are before taking possession of a property. They need to provide some forms of identification (such as passport, biometric residence permit, etc.) to their prospective landlords/ladies or their agents. The Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 even gives landlords/ladies authority to check incoming tenants’ identity.

If landlords/ladies have such authority, renters/tenants are entitled to know the identity of their landlord/lady.

Δ Finding out your landlord’s/lady’s identity

Tenants have a right, by law, to know the name and address of their landlord/lady. They can find their landlord’s/lady’s contact details in the official tenancy documents such as tenancy agreement (if the tenancy agreement mentions these details), gas safety certificate, etc. They can as well search for their landlord/lady in the local council (i.e. the council tax department or private rented housing team) and land registry (where they may have to pay a small fee).

Δ The importance of identifying your landlord/lady

In order to ensure that the property is legitimately let, it is important for renters/tenants to know who is their real landlord/lady or their representative. Knowing the real identity of your landlord/lady or their representative has its basis and merit since there are many activities going on when renting a property; activities such as paying rent, asking for repairs, dealing with tradesmen, handling neighbourhood matter, etc.  

The following can perhaps summarise the importance of identifying your landlord/lady or their agents:

• In the course of a tenancy and or at the end of it, tenants can sometimes discover that they have been dealing with the wrong person or they have been paying rent to the wrong person

• When the time comes to collect the deposit, tenants should know who to ask for their deposit or which scheme holds their deposit

• Where there is a chain of landlords/ladies like in a leasehold situation, it makes sense to know who is your real landlord/lady to avoid any disputes regarding the management and maintenance of the property

• Identifying landlords/ladies will help protect renters’ interests, save their money and give them peace of mind and extra security

Etc.

The above reasons can explain why renters/tenants need to identify their landlord/lady or their representative. There could be more reasons which our work with renters/tenants will try to unveil. 

Δ Need to know more 

Need to know more about checking your landlord’s/lady’s ID, why not work with Home Relief.