The Lettings Hub is to roll out its Property Passport free tenant referencing product for letting agents.

A beta test exercise already involved some agents but release to the wider market gives all clients of The Lettings Hub, and every other letting agent across the UK, access to pre-qualified tenants at no cost. 

One agent participating in the beta test – Connor Pound, lettings manager of Harris + Wood Lettings Services – says: “Property Passport has improved our average time-to-let by over 48 hours. We are able to identify the tenants that are not suited to the property before we’ve met them in person, reducing the number of viewings we have to do by 30 per cent.”

He adds: “It’s also proving popular with landlords, we’ve definitely won new instructions because of it. One unexpected benefit is that it means our staff aren’t exposed to the unnecessary risk of additional viewings during the current pandemic, which will help us in the coming weeks and months.” 

The people behind the innovation say it’s particularly suitable for agents now as it allows them to ensure they only complete viewings with the tenants who have a confirmed 96 per cent chance of being a match for the property. 

The product is reported to have been popular with tenants during the beta trial, too, with 86 per cent of those surveyed stating they found it easy to use and 93 per cent agreeing the information required to create a passport was reasonable. 

Lettings Hub chief executive Heidi Shackell says: “Agents will be considering how they can safely respond to the sudden surge in demand for viewings, whilst protecting both their staff and tenants.”