How To Get Experian Tenant Credit Check?

• Collect the tenant's full name and date of birth.
• Record the current address and the two most recent previous addresses (covering the last five years).
• Secure the tenant's National Insurance number or, if unavailable, a passport or driving licence number.
• Note employment details: employer name, job title, and monthly net income.
• Prepare rental specifics - proposed monthly rent, intended tenancy start date, and a landlord reference contact (you'll upload ID, payslip and utility bill when you request consent, see the next section).

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Obtain a clear, written consent from the applicant before you submit an Experian tenant check. The consent form should state the purpose (credit assessment), the data you will share, and the applicant's signature or electronic acknowledgement.

Store the consent securely and keep it only as long as needed - typically for the tenancy term plus a short period for any disputes. This follows the GDPR data‑retention principle of minimisation, not a fixed five‑year rule.

You can order an Experian tenant check in five straightforward steps.

1. Log in to your Experian landlord portal (or create an account if you don't have one).
2. Select 'New Tenant Check' and enter the tenant's full name, date of birth, and current address - the details you gathered in the preparation section.
3. Upload the signed consent form you collected earlier; the system will not allow the check to proceed without it.
4. Review the summary, confirm the cost (see the 'Check how much an Experian tenant check costs' section for current pricing), and click 'Submit'.
5. Receive a confirmation email with a reference number; the report will be available in your dashboard within the timeframe discussed in 'Expect how long your tenant check will take'.

For step‑by‑step screenshots, visit the Experian tenant check ordering guide.

One Experian tenant check typically costs £5  -  £7 per report, with lower rates for bulk orders. Prices break down as follows:

• £5 for a single check (including basic credit score and credit history)
• £4.50 each when you order 10 + checks in one batch
• £4.00 each for 50 + checks, plus optional add‑ons such as detailed employment verification (extra £1 per report)
• No hidden fees if you've already gathered tenant consent in the previous step; the cost only covers the data retrieval

For exact, up‑to‑date pricing see the Experian tenant check pricing page. Next, you'll want to know how long the check takes.

An Experian tenant check normally appears in your portal within minutes of placing the order; most landlords see a full report in under five minutes when the tenant's data exists in Experian's database. If the tenant has a thin file or the system must retrieve information from a partner bureau, the process can stretch to 24 hours, and in rare cases (for example, overseas credit histories) it may take up to 48 hours.

Delays almost always stem from missing consent or incorrect personal details, so double‑check the information you entered in the 'prepare the tenant details' step before you hit order. After the check completes, the score and red‑flag sections load instantly, letting you move on to the 'see exactly what's in your Experian tenant check' section.

An Experian tenant check delivers a single, easy‑to‑read report that packs every data point a landlord needs to judge rental risk.

The report includes:

• Experian credit score (0‑999) and risk band (low, medium, high)
• Payment history on credit cards, loans, and existing mortgages
• Public records such as County Court Judgments, bankruptcies, and County Court Attachments
• Electoral roll verification and address history for the past five years
• Employment details (current employer, length of service) if the tenant provides them
• Rental‑specific information (previous landlord references, rent arrears) when supplied
• Financial commitments (outstanding debts, credit limits, overdrafts)
• Identity checks (date of birth, NI number) confirming the applicant's legitimacy

With all these elements displayed side by side, you can instantly spot strengths and red flags before deciding on a tenancy. The next section shows how to read the score and identify warning signs.

Your Experian tenant score runs from 0 to 1000; 800‑1000 signals excellent risk, 600‑799 good, 300‑599 fair, and below 300 poor. Use this scale to decide whether a prospective tenant meets your criteria.

Red flags appear as specific items in the report: recent County Court Judgments, defaults older than six months, multiple address changes in the last year, high credit utilisation, and a long list of recent hard enquiries. Lack of any credit history also triggers caution, because the algorithm has little data to assess reliability.

If any of these warnings show up, move on to the next section and learn how to dispute and fix errors on the Experian tenant check, ensuring you base your decision on accurate information. For a full breakdown of score bands, see the Experian tenant score guide.

If an Experian tenant check shows inaccurate information, dispute it directly with Experian and have the error corrected.

1. Obtain the full report - Log into your Experian account or request a free statutory copy at the Experian dispute centre.
2. Mark every mistake - Note incorrect personal details, wrong address history, or misstated credit accounts; take screenshots for reference.
3. Gather supporting documents - Collect bank statements, tenancy agreements, or letters that prove the correct information.
4. Submit the dispute - Use Experian's online form, email, or certified mail; attach your evidence and clearly state the item to be corrected.
5. Monitor the investigation - Experian must investigate within 28 days and send you the updated report; if the error remains, repeat the process or contact the Information Commissioner's Office for a GDPR‑based rectification request.

After the correction, revisit the 'interpret your Experian tenant score and red flags' section to see the revised score before moving on to 'improve your chances after a tenant check rejection.'

• Boost your odds on the next Experian tenant check by fixing the issues that triggered the rejection.
• Scan the rejection report for exact red‑flag items such as missed payments or high credit utilisation.
• Dispute any factual errors through the 'dispute and fix errors on your Experian report' process.
• Reduce or clear outstanding debts; allow at least a month for the credit score to reflect the improvement.
• Add strong supporting references - employer verification, previous landlord endorsement - to offset a weak Experian tenant check score.

You can sidestep Experian's paywall by pulling the free reports the government mandates and by using trusted no‑cost platforms.

• AnnualCreditReport.com - three free reports per year, one from each bureau, request online, by phone (1‑877‑322‑8228) or by mail.
• Credit Karma - free weekly updates from TransUnion and Equifax; no subscription required.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - guides on obtaining free credit data after a freeze, fraud alert or identity‑theft incident.
• Military free credit report - active‑duty service members receive an annual free report from each bureau.

These options give you a complete credit picture without triggering Experian's subscription paywall, letting you continue troubleshooting login issues or pursue the escalation steps that follow.

Landlords can run bulk Experian tenant checks and stay GDPR‑compliant by using Experian's Business API together with a solid consent and data‑retention workflow.

• Sign the Experian Data Processing Agreement before any upload.
• Capture each tenant's explicit consent (signed form or electronic tick‑box) before sending their details.
• Upload data through the encrypted API endpoint; the system flags missing or inaccurate fields.
• Set a retention schedule - Experian automatically deletes records after six years, matching the ICO's guideline.
• Log every access request and keep a record of who ran each bulk check.
• If you run more than ten checks a month, conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment to document the lawful basis.
• Purge the tenant's personal data from your own system once the tenancy ends or the retention period expires.

Following these steps lets you scale checks without breaching privacy law, and you'll see the cost breakdown in the next section on Experian tenant check pricing.