Why it's important to remind your Tenants to register on the Electoral Roll
Moving into a new property can be a stressful time for any tenant with a million and one things to remember to do. Registering themselves on the Electoral roll at their new address may be at the bottom of their to do list and not seem like anything particularly important to them.
That’s not the case, it is an important part of their move. Not only does it allow them to vote but it is also a requirement by law and Veri-Check recommends that you advise your tenants to register themselves at the first opportunity. Failure on the tenant’s part to provide their registration details if requested could lead to a fine of up to £1,000!
But that’s not the only reason it’s important to remind your tenants………………
When the tenant comes to move into a new property they will have referencing undertaken whether it be by the agent directly or via a third party tenant referencing company and this is where the electoral roll registration can play a major part.
Tenant referencing agencies will carry out a credit check on a prospective tenant, however as they don’t have full access to the applicants credit file because they aren’t offering credit the ‘Risk Report’ is based on Electoral Roll information and postcode statistics. As such if your prospective tenants aren’t registered on the electoral Roll this could have an impact on their ability to meet your referencing criteria.
The following groups are able to register to vote:
- Anyone aged 16 or over can register to vote but you cannot vote until they are 18
- British citizens of qualifying Commonwealth countries
- Citizens of other EU member states resident in the UK can vote in local government elections but cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections
Advise your tenants to go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to register online as soon as possible following the tenancy commencing. It's straightforward and only takes a couple of minutes. Your tenants will just need their date of birth and national insurance number. Alternatively they can contact the Local Authority Registration Officer.