My guarantor’s only income is a pension, and she does not have online banking. The referencing process seems to require Open Banking access to verify income, but this isn’t possible for her.
Has anyone had a pensioner guarantor pass referencing without online banking on OpenRent?
Can the referencing agency verify pension income by contacting the pension provider directly, or is there another accepted method within OpenRent’s process?
Is there any way to ensure the referencing is completed and RGI eligibility maintained without online banking?
The open banking link is an option. Old-fashioned methods are also available if they fill in the details. Presumably they should fill in the pension provider as the employer.
I’ve just heard back from OR support. This was their response. Surprised at how inflexible they are around this and it seems like I’ll need to be mindful of this for future tenancies. Not just that they have online banking but also ensuring their bank supports open banking.
As part of the referencing process, applicants can connect their bank account using Open Banking in order to verify their income. You can view a list of banks that support this feature here: https://www.openrent.co.uk/kb/articles/10628281462673
This is the most secure way that we can verify a tenants income.
Unfortunately, if their bank does not support Open Banking, we will not be able to verify their income in this way and they will need to opt-out of this part of the referencing process.
We understand that Open Banking is not available for all accounts, and will complete their reference using the information available to us (such as their employment referee).
Be aware that we cannot accept copies of documents, such as bank statements or employment contracts, as part of our referencing assessment.
We’ve seen cases where documents have been altered, modified, or even totally made up. As we can’t verify the authenticity of such a document, it’s not something we can rely on in a reference report and including it as evidence would be misleading.
You are welcome to request these documents from the tenants directly if you wish, though.
I won’t be requesting the documents directly as this would make me ineligible for RG insurance so it basically means I’ll have to push the guarantor to get online banking and if that fails, refund the holding deposit and start the search again.
You do not need to push them to get OpenBanking. Ask them to opt out of the Openbanking referencing option (as stated above), and the system will ask them for employer information, and as suggested above, Openrent will reference using a traditional employers referencing.
You wont. They mean there is nothing to stop you seeing copies of ‘tenant provided referencing information’ yourself, but they wont accept it as part of their referencing. eg - A previous Landlord reference provided in writing by the applicant to you, which may be genuine or forged.