Company let referencing
When the tenant is a limited company, the usual referencing questions don't quite fit. There is no salary to verify and no personal credit file to pull. Instead you are assessing a company's covenant — and, in most cases, deciding whether you also need a director's personal guarantee standing behind it.
A company let is not an AST
An assured shorthold tenancy requires an individualto occupy as their only or main home, so a tenancy granted to a company sits outside the assured regime. That changes how deposits, possession and the Renters' Rights Act reforms apply. The differences are real and fact-sensitive — take advice before granting one rather than adapting an AST you already have.
What to check
Companies House record
Incorporation date, registered office, current directors, and whether accounts and confirmation statements are filed on time. A company incorporated three weeks ago is a very different counterparty from one trading for a decade.
Filed accounts
Net assets and whether the business could plausibly meet the rent. Small companies file abbreviated accounts, so expect limited detail — the absence of detail is itself worth weighing.
Insolvency and adverse history
Winding-up petitions, charges registered, CCJs against the company, and whether the directors have a history of dissolved or insolvent companies.
Director credit checks
Especially for a small or newly formed company, where the directors are effectively the covenant. The same £9 check that works on a tenant works on a director.
Who will actually live there
Get the named occupiers in writing, and reference them as individuals too. The company pays the rent; a person lives in and looks after the property.
A director's personal guarantee
For anything other than a substantial, well-established company this is the check that matters most. Without it your recourse stops at the company's assets.
The director's guarantee is the real protection
A limited company is a limited liability vehicle — that is the entire point of one. If it stops paying and is dissolved, your recourse stops with it. For anything other than a substantial, long-established business, a personal guarantee from a director is what turns a company let from an act of faith into a commercial decision.
The formalities are the same as any guarantee: in writing, signed, and far safer executed as a deed with an independent witness who is not the tenant or a member of the guarantor's household. Our guarantor agreement template covers those points, though a corporate arrangement is one to have checked properly. And credit check the director personally — a guarantee is only worth what the guarantor is.
Don't forget the people
The company pays the rent. A person lives in the property, and it is the person who causes or avoids the damage. Name the permitted occupiers in the agreement, keep the right to approve a change of occupier, and reference those individuals in the ordinary way — a strong corporate balance sheet says nothing about how the kitchen will look in eighteen months.
Check the Right to Rent position too rather than assuming a company let is outside it. The duty attaches to adults occupying as their only or main home, so it can still apply depending on how the property is actually used. The penalty is up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach, which makes the check cheap insurance.
When a company let is a good deal
Done properly, often a very good one. A corporate tenant with filed accounts and a director's guarantee can be a stronger covenant than an individual; rent typically arrives by standing order from a business account; and relocation lets are frequently well looked after because the occupier's employer is watching. The trade-off is more due diligence up front and a different legal regime — both manageable, neither improvised.
FAQ
Is a company let an assured shorthold tenancy?
No. An assured shorthold tenancy requires an individual to occupy the property as their only or main home, so a tenancy granted to a limited company falls outside the assured tenancy regime under the Housing Act 1988. That has real consequences: the statutory deposit-protection duty and the Tenant Fees Act deposit caps are built around ASTs, and the Renters' Rights Act reforms are aimed at them too. The flip side is that possession works differently and is generally governed by the contract rather than the statutory grounds. Because the position turns on the facts, take advice before granting one.
Do I still need to protect the deposit?
The statutory tenancy-deposit protection duty applies to assured shorthold tenancies, so it does not bite on a genuine company let in the same way. That does not mean you should be casual about it — you still need clear contractual terms about what the deposit covers and how it is returned, and getting the characterisation wrong is exactly the kind of mistake that becomes expensive later. If there is any doubt about whether the let is genuinely a company let, protect the deposit and take advice.
Does Right to Rent apply to a company let?
Check rather than assume. The Right to Rent duty in England attaches to adults occupying a property as their only or main home, so the fact that the tenant is a company does not automatically put the arrangement outside the scheme — it depends on how the property is actually occupied. Given the penalty is up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach, the cost of checking is trivial against the cost of being wrong.
What is a director's personal guarantee and do I need one?
It is a guarantee from an individual director, in their own name, that they will meet the company's obligations if the company does not. For anything other than a large, well-established business you should treat it as essential: without it your recourse is limited to a company that can be dissolved, leaving nothing to pursue. Like any guarantee it must be in writing and signed, and it is safer executed as a deed with an independent witness.
How do I check the company itself?
Start at Companies House: incorporation date, registered office, directors, and whether filings are up to date. Then look at the filed accounts for net assets, and check for winding-up petitions, registered charges and CCJs. Finally look at the directors — a pattern of dissolved or insolvent companies behind a newly incorporated tenant is the clearest warning you will get.
Should I reference the people who will live there?
Yes. The company is your counterparty for the rent, but individuals occupy the property and cause or avoid the damage. Get the named occupiers in the agreement, keep the right to approve changes, and reference them as individuals. A company covenant tells you nothing about how the flat will be looked after.
Are company lets worth the extra work?
Often, yes. A corporate tenant with filed accounts and a director's guarantee can be a stronger covenant than an individual, the rent tends to be paid by standing order from a business account, and relocation lets are frequently well looked after. The trade-off is a different legal regime and more due diligence up front — which is exactly what this page is for.
Disclaimer: This guide is general information for UK landlords, not legal or financial advice. Law and practice change — always confirm the current position, and take advice on anything that matters. Company lets sit outside the assured tenancy regime and the consequences of mischaracterising one are significant. This page is a starting point for the commercial checks — take legal advice on the tenancy itself.