Can estate and letting agents charge clients for ID checks?

Estate agents can charge buyers and sellers for ID checks, and most do or plan to. Letting agents in England cannot charge tenants for them: the Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans every payment from a tenant except those it lists (rent, a capped deposit, a capped holding deposit, and set default, change and utility payments), and referencing and ID checks are not on that list. A letting agent can charge the landlord instead. Wales and Scotland have similar bans on fees to tenants.

An estate agent's fee for an ID check must be shown up front with its other fees (consumer protection law requires the total price to be clear before the client commits).

Who pays doesn't move the duty. A letting agent in scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (lets of £10,000 a month or more), an estate agent, and every letting agent under the sanctions reporting duty since 14 May 2025 remains responsible for its own checks.

With Certaby, each person gets an ID check by link: they photograph their passport or driving licence and take a short selfie on their phone, through an identity service on the GOV.UK register. For a tenant in England, one link can check their ID and their Right to Rent together, £3.49.

Source: Tenant Fees Act 2019

Last updated 27 October 2026.