The End of Section 21: Why "Standard Referencing" Is No Longer Enough
The UK rental market has fundamentally changed. With the Renters' Rights Bill receiving Royal Assent and the abolition of Section 21 "No-Fault" evictions scheduled for 2026, the balance of power has shifted.
For decades, landlords had an escape hatch. If a tenant stopped paying or caused issues, you could issue a Section 21 notice. It wasn't quick, but it was certain.
That safety net is gone.
Once a tenant signs your AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy) and moves in, removing them will require proving legal grounds in court—a process currently taking 6 to 12 months and costing an average of £20,000 in legal fees and lost rent.
The implication is simple: You cannot afford to let the wrong person in.
The "Invisible" Fraud Epidemic
While the laws have tightened, the tools available to fraudsters have exploded. In 2024, tenant fraud rose by 117%. Why? Because AI and editing software have made it effortless to fake a financial history.
A "Professional Tenant" can now:
- Download a real bank statement PDF.
- Use an AI editor to change the salary from £1,500 to £4,500.
- "Flatten" the file so it looks like an original.
To the naked eye, this document is perfect. To a standard referencing agency, it passes checks because the math adds up. But to a forensic algorithm, it is screaming "FAKE."
The Gap in "Standard" Referencing
Most landlords and agents rely on legacy referencing (like OpenRent, Goodlord, or HomeLet). These services are essential, but they look at the Past, not the Present.
They check Credit History: This tells you if the tenant paid bills 2 years ago. It does not tell you if they lost their job yesterday.
They check Employer References: These are easily faked by giving a friend's mobile number.
They check "Visual" Documents: A human case handler looks at the PDF. Humans get tired. Humans miss pixel-level inconsistencies.
If a tenant has a "Clean Credit File" but is currently unemployed and using a faked bank statement to hide it, standard referencing will pass them.
How ProperLet Closes the Gap
ProperLet is not a referencing agency. We are a Digital Forensic Laboratory. We don't care about credit scores; we care about Data Integrity.
We analyze the "Digital DNA" of the files uploaded by your tenant:
Metadata Forensics: Every PDF has a hidden history. We check if the file was generated by a legitimate banking system (e.g., "Barclays System V4") or if it was last touched by editing software (e.g., "Adobe Photoshop," "Canva," or "Sejda PDF Editor").
Financial Reconciliation: Our AI cross-references every line item. Does the Net Pay on the payslip match the BACS deposit in the bank statement down to the penny? Does the tax calculation on the SA302 match the erratic income of a freelancer?
Temporal Logic: We verify that the documents are recent. A bank statement from 2022 is useless today, yet many fraudsters try to recycle old "good" months.
The "Belt and Braces" Approach
We do not suggest you stop using professional referencing. You need them for the legal/insurance paper trail.
However, we recommend Pre-Screening every applicant with ProperLet before you pay for a full reference.
Step 1 (The Filter): Ask all 5 applicants to upload their proofs to ProperLet (Free).
Step 2 (The Catch): Our system flags 2 applicants as "High Risk" due to edited metadata. You reject them instantly.
Step 3 (The Verify): You take the remaining honest candidates and pay for a full OpenRent/Legacy check on the best one.
This strategy saves you money on wasted referencing fees and, more importantly, saves you from the £20,000 nightmare of a professional tenant.
Trust, But Verify
In the new era of the Renters' Rights Bill, a landlord's intuition is no longer enough. You need forensic proof.
ProperLet gives you that proof in 10 seconds.