FAQs: RentPassport™

Letting agents and Landlords need to verify a Tenant's suitability for the property they have applied for. This includes verifying tenants' employment, income and ensuring that the tenant is able to meet their rental payments. Instant tenant verification will speed up the rental application process for Renters, Lettings Agents and Landlords

As part of the instant validation, Renters are also able to access a range of affordable, ethical and fair financial wellness products such as Canopy RentTracking™ or DepositFree™. 

For more information please see What is a RentPassport™?

Experian based checks (Processing time: 1min-5min)

• Identity
• 3 Years Address history
• Soft credit check
• Adverse Financial History (CCJs, IVA and Bankruptcy)
• KYC (Know-Your-Customer)
• AML (Anti-Money Laundering)

Open Banking (Processing time: 5mins, subject to successfully connecting with tenants bank)

• Income Verification
• Rental Affordability (How much a Renter can spend on rent based on annual gross income)
• Rental Payments Verification, if previously renting in the U.K

Manual Income verification (Processing time: max 48hrs)

• Tenants provide proof of income (3 months payslips, bank statements, employment contract)
• Self-employed (tax returns, bank statements)

For more information please see What is Open Banking? and RentPassport™: Credit Check

Our Open Banking and Experian digital referencing checks are FREE for Letting Agents and Landlords. Canopy charges £3 plus VAT for comprehensive Employment and Landlord references.

For more info please see How to request full screening for a tenant.

When a Renter checks their credit score for with Canopy, they are performing what is called a soft credit check. This credit inquiry will not impact a Renters credit, no matter how frequently a Renter views their credit score.

The approach by incumbent Tenant Screening companies is - "Tenants are guilty until proven otherwise"" -The whole process is invasive asking Tenants to upload payslips and bank statements and then only sharing screening results with the Letting Agent or Landlord.

‍Canopy's RentPassport™ aims to build TRUST between renters, lettings agents and landlords. We are putting renters digital rental history at their fingertips - akin to LinkedIn for Renters.

RentPassport™ encourages greater renter mobility whilst rewarding Renters who pay their rent and bills on-time through an improved Experian credit history. ‍

‍For Letting Agents and Landlords

For Landlords, its peace of mind knowing that each Renter has undergone comprehensive screening.

1. Reference Letter on company letterhead 

2. Contact details for HR (please be aware this may cause delays as they require need written/verbal consent from you to provide a reference)

3. Three months most recent payslips (we can only verify their income with this, they will still need to provide a reference to confirm all employment details)

If they are Self employed, please see the list of documents we can accept:

1. Most recent Tax Return

2. Signed Accountants Reference on company letterhead

3. SA302

For more information please see Verifying income: PAYE Employee , Verifying income: Self employment , Verifying Income Pension , Verifying Income: Benefits

Letting Agents and or Landlords may not accept renters with an active or satisfied CCJs, or declared bankruptcy.