Landlords in the UK must carrying out tenant ID checks as a legal requirement.
If you’re a landlord or estate agent working with a VA, this will sound familiar.
You receive tenant ID documents — passports, driving licences, proof of address — and you pass them over to your assistant to process.
It feels efficient. It keeps things moving.
But it also creates a problem most people haven’t really thought through.
ID checks for landlords in the UK
Landlords and letting agents are expected to verify tenant identity. In practice, this usually involves collecting:
- passports
- driving licences
- proof of address
These checks are a routine part of onboarding and may be linked to right to rent requirements.
The issue is not whether checks are carried out.
The issue is how those documents move through your business.
What is actually happening
In many setups:
- ID documents arrive by email or upload
- they are forwarded to a VA
- they are stored, downloaded or shared
- contracts and data processing agreements are relied on
This creates multiple copies of sensitive data across systems that are not fully controlled.
Why this creates a problem
Identity documents include:
- full name
- date of birth
- address
- document numbers
- photographs
This is high value data.
Once shared:
- storage locations are unclear
- access is difficult to track
- copying cannot be controlled
- data may be transferred outside the UK
Contracts do not prevent this.
They define responsibilities. They do not secure the data.blem.
The question to ask
Where are your tenant ID documents right now?
If they are sitting in inboxes, shared folders or on a VA’s device, the process is not secure.
Yes we know you love and trust your VA but that doesn’t stop their laptop getting hacked (or yours for that matter!)
A better approach
Remove ID documents from your process.
Use a third party identity checking service instead.
- the tenant submits ID directly
- the service carries out the check
- you receive confirmation
- your VA manages the process without accessing the documents
No forwarding. No storage. No duplication.
A simple option most landlords can use
Post Office Ltd provides identity checking services across the UK.
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/identity
This works well because:
- it is familiar and widely trusted
- it does not require technical setup
- tenants can complete checks easily
- you receive confirmation without handling documents
There are other digital providers, but the key point is the same.
The ID is checked without passing through your business.our business or your team.
If you never had it, you can’t lose it, and if it goes missing, it definitely itsn’t from you.
The difference in risk in practice
| Approach | Who has the ID | Risk |
|---|
| Send to VA by email | You and your VA | High |
| Store internally depending on set up and encryption, access, etc | You | Medium to high |
| Use a checking service | Third party only | Low |
Contracts and data processing agreements still matter
You still need:
- agreements with your VA
- data processing terms
- defined responsibilities
But contracts do not control what happens to files.
If documents can be downloaded or stored outside your systems, the risk remains.
This matters even more with remote teams Risk increases when:
- onboarding is delegated
- remote assistants are used
- overseas VAs are involved
Once documents leave your direct control, visibility reduces.
Removing that step removes the exposure
A more robust setup
- tenant submits ID to a checking service
- the service verifies identity
- your VA manages the process only
- you retain confirmation instead of documents
This reduces:
- the amount of high risk ID data held
- the number of failure points
- the effort required to manage compliance
Set your team up properly
If your team handles onboarding, structure matters as much as paperwork. We like to help you get it all right in a way that’s appropriate for your business.
Have a look at our team hiring contracts that come with support. You will find them here
Final point
If ID documents do not need to pass through your business, they are a risk and there are ways of handling this that reduce the risk. .
