The huge tenancy fraud risk you're taking without this technology

Updated: September 2026

Letting agents in the UK are facing a double threat: rising tenancy fraud and stricter compliance rules.

According to Goodlord's fraud data, confirmed tenancy fraud cases rose 49% in 2025 compared with 2024, while referee-flagged fraud rose 78% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, according to Home Office data reported by LandlordZone, Right to Rent penalties totalled more than £4.2 million between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, over seven times the £596,400 issued in the same period a year earlier.

Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) is crucial to mitigating these threats. By digitally verifying tenant ID, you can take the pressure off your staff while also protecting your landlords.

In this blog, we’ll dig into what IDVT is, why you should use it, and how it can help you overcome tenancy fraud and compliance hurdles👇

• What is IDVT?
• Manual checks vs IDVT: What's the difference?
• Why should you invest in IDVT?
• Where does IDVT fit into the tenant referencing process?
• 4 crucial things to remember when choosing your IDVT provider
• Conclusion: Going beyond IDVT with Goodlord

IDVT meaning: What is Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT)?

In the lettings industry, IDVT digitally verifies a tenant's identity documents, such as passports or driving licences. The technology also helps to confirm a tenant's right to rent a property, overcoming the issues inherent in manual verification.

How does IDVT work?

IDVT uses a range of advanced digital checks to detect fraud and ensure authenticity. These include: 

• Biometric checks - use facial recognition to verify that a tenant's features match their identity documents.*
• Digital right to rent checks - ensure that tenants have a legal right to rent in the UK.
• Visual analysis and liveness checks - ensure the person completing the check is real and present, not using a static photo or recorded video. 
• Amberhill checks - cross-reference with the national police database to flag stolen, lost, or fraudulent documents. 
• NFC checks - read passport chip data via a mobile to instantly confirm the document’s authenticity. 

By combining these technologies, IDVT offers a faster, safer, and more reliable way to verify a tenant's identity, helping you stay compliant while offering a smoother experience for tenants.

*Under the latest Right to Rent rules, landlords must retain a secure copy of this facial comparison, and must offer tenants a manual fallback check if the technology cannot verify them.

Did you know?

Previously, letting agents needed to carry out an in-person or virtual 'Imposter Check' to confirm that the person is genuinely who they claim to be, even when using IDVT. However, under the new rules, the RtR DVSP carries these checks out on your behalf, saving you time.

How did IDVT change in 2026?

From October 1, 2026, you must run Right to Rent checks through a registered digital verification service provider (RtR DVSP), not just any identity verification tool or Identity Service Provider (IDSP).

If your current provider isn't a registered RtR DVSP by that date, checks carried out by it won't give you a valid statutory defence against Right to Rent penalties.

Right to Rent checks — including any facial recognition comparison used to verify a tenant — must now be retained securely for the duration of the tenancy, plus one year after it ends.

Manual checks vs IDVT: What's the difference?

When conducting Right to Rent checks manually, you need to meet the tenant in person and inspect their identity documents. During this process, you must verify that the document appears genuine and that the person standing in front of you matches the photo.

One of the biggest challenges with manual checks is that they rely heavily on an "eye test," placing responsibility on agents to decide whether or not an ID is legitimate.

Other than that, there are other significant challenges:

• Risk of human error - Fraudsters use convincing fake IDs, making manual checks unreliable.
• No real-time verification - Manual checks often don’t verify documents against official databases.
• Increased admin - You need to store copies of documents and maintain audit trails securely.
• Time pressure - Manual checks can slow down the application process, especially if you need to arrange meetings with prospective tenants.

IDVT, on the other hand, automates identity document validation, taking the pressure off your team. The technology scans documents, checking security features such as watermarks, microprinting, and embedded chips to assess authenticity.

Plus, with IDVT, you can conduct Right to Rent checks remotely, all in line with government-approved standards. This not only reduces your exposure to fraud but also ensures full compliance with legal requirements.

Why should you invest in IDVT?

IDVT doesn’t just protect your landlords; it also protects your reputation and your agency's future. Here’s how 👇

1 - Avoid potentially huge fines

Failing to conduct proper Right to Rent checks can be financially devastating.

For instance, first-time offenders can face fines of up to £10,000 per occupier and £5,000 per lodger. Repeat offenders can be fined up to £20,000 per occupier and £10,000 per lodger.

From October 1, 2026, this risk becomes sharper still.

If you're running electronic Right to Rent checks through a tool that isn't a registered DVSP, you won't have a valid statutory defence if a check is later challenged, regardless of how thorough the check itself was.

2 - Protect against tenancy fraud

Fake employment references increased by 226.6% in 2025 compared with the previous year, referee fraud rose 146.4%, and identity manipulation rose 140.4%.

Increasingly, these aren't isolated fakes. A fabricated payslip is built to match an altered bank statement, which is built to support an invented employment history, creating an application that looks entirely consistent even though nothing in it is real.

The costs of failing to identify this practice are huge.

Goodlord's data puts the average financial exposure of a single fraudulent tenancy at £9,601 once legal costs, rent arrears, void periods, and property damage are factored in.

As eviction delays will be extended under the Renters’ Rights Act, preventing this scenario is critical. IDVT helps you detect tampered or fraudulent documents early so that you can stop fraud in its tracks.

3 - Safeguard your agency's reputation

Compliance mishaps don’t just have financial consequences. They can also seriously harm the trust you’ve built with your clients. Using IDVT shows that your agency takes compliance and security seriously.

4 - Slash wasted time on admin

Manual ID checks are time-consuming, admin-heavy, and prone to human error. IDVT simplifies the entire process by allowing you to verify identities remotely and securely, reducing the admin burden on your team. 

Plus, because every check comes with a full audit trail, you have clear evidence to hand if anyone questions your processes.

5 - Increase the coverage of remote checks with passport flexibility

From October 1, 2026, British and Irish passports can be used for a valid digital Right to Rent check up to six months after they expire.

This means fewer tenants get stuck needing an in-person check just because their passport has recently lapsed, making fully remote referencing possible for a wider pool of applicants.

Where does IDVT fit into the tenant referencing process? 

IDVT is most effective as one layer among several.

Goodlord's data shows that Trusted Sources — such as Open Banking, HMRC income verification, and payroll integrations — have helped identify over 97% of fake employment reference fraud, 98% of forged payslips, and 83% of referee fraud: cases that document review alone would likely have missed.

The following checks further reduce the chances of tenancy fraud:

• Credit checks - reviewing a tenant’s financial history helps determine whether they can pay the rent reliably. 
• Residential checks - gathering feedback from previous landlords helps you understand how tenants have behaved and treated previous properties. 
• Income verification - confirming that the tenant’s employment is genuine and that their earnings are sufficient to safeguard the landlords.
• Sanctions checks - screening tenants against the government-imposed sanctions list protects against money laundering.

This helps you build a complete and accurate picture of who you’re placing in your landlords’ properties.

4 crucial things to remember when choosing your IDVT provider

Here are some factors to keep in mind before finalising your IDVT provider:

1 - Understand what you need

Are you just looking for technology that helps you verify Right to Rent? Or do you need a provider who can support full tenant referencing, including credit checks, residential checks, and income verification?

2 - Confirm your provider's certification

If you decide to use IDVT, you must ensure your provider is a registered digital verification service provider. This requirement determines whether your Right to Rent checks are legally valid from October 1, 2026 onwards.

Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) certification is a good indicator of a provider's data protection and security standards, but you need to confirm DVSP registration for Right to Rent compliance.

3 - Get transparent pricing

Ask for a detailed cost breakdown and double-check whether there are any hidden fees. If your tenancy volumes change month to month, you’ll want a flexible pricing model that grows (or shrinks) with your business, not one that ties you into paying for checks you don’t use.

4 - Check customer support

If there’s ever a technical problem or a failed check, you need a provider that’s easy to reach, with proper UK-based support by phone or chat. Ask about their service-level agreements (SLAs) so you know exactly what kind of support you can expect if something goes wrong.

Conclusion: Going beyond IDVT with Goodlord

At Goodlord, we help you do more than just verify tenants’ identities. Our tenant referencing product is seamless and end-to-end.

Partnered with a registered DVSP

We partner with a registered digital verification service provider (RtR DVSP) to run our IDVT checks, so you're already compliant.

They're trusted by over 180,000 people every month for secure identity verification, and are both ISO 27001 accredited and certified under the UK's Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

Fully managed referencing service

IDVT is just the start. Our full tenant referencing service checks across four key criteria: identity, credit, residential history, and income and affordability.

We use tried-and-tested techniques, such as payroll verification, to prevent financial fraud, and we also integrate with HMRC and Open Banking.

Once you send the link to your applicant, we gather and verify documents and chase referees.

Seamless, end-to-end journey

Everything is built into the Goodlord platform, providing a seamless journey from start to finish. You can customise the reference type for each applicant, toggle IDVT checks on a case-by-case basis, and track every reference in real time through your referencing dashboard.

UK-based, in-house support team

Our UK-based in-house referencing team handles your references. They’re dedicated to providing you and your tenants with a seamless journey, backed by the best technologies.

They're also on hand to answer any questions and will proactively step in to ensure that even the most complex references are managed with ease.

If all of that sounds good, hit the button below 👇

This article is intended as a guide only and does not constitute legal advice. For more information, visit gov.uk.