HomeLet

What HomeLet does

HomeLet is the UK's largest tenant referencing and specialist lettings insurance company, operating as a trading name of Barbon Insurance Group Limited, a subsidiary of PIB Group Limited. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Lincoln with approximately 300 employees, the company serves three primary customer segments: letting agents, landlords, and tenants. Its core products are tenant referencing services (credit checks, employment and income verification, right to rent checks, and affordability assessments) bundled with a suite of specialist insurance products including landlord buildings and contents cover, rent guarantee, emergency assistance, portfolio insurance, and tenant contents and liability insurance. The company processes over 1,200 tenant references per day and works with more than 3,700 letting agent partners, paying over £1.1 million in commission to agents and protecting more than £1.2 billion in rent under guarantee.

HomeLet's technology platform is anchored on HomeLet Connect, an agent portal that delivers same-day intelligent referencing, instant Tenancy Application Scores, and real-time workflow tracking for letting agents, with complementary self-service portals (My HomeLet, Tenant Application Tracker) for end customers. The company has invested in proprietary AI capabilities, most notably VISTA, launched in 2024 after three years of R&D and a £3 million investment, which applies document metadata analysis and computer vision to detect tenant application fraud. HomeLet's dataset of over 500 million data points and 13 million+ historical tenant references underpins both its AI models and its credit/risk scoring accuracy.

HomeLet generates revenue primarily through recurring insurance premiums across its landlord and tenant product suite, supplemented by transaction-based fees for tenant referencing and affiliate/referral income from tenant services (broadband, utilities, removals). Distribution is dual-channel: B2B2C through its 3,700+ letting agent partnerships (with agents earning commission on placed business) and direct-to-consumer via phone sales, online quote portals, and customer self-service platforms. The company is FCA registered (number 308724) and operates exclusively in the UK private rental sector, with no disclosed international footprint.

Name

HomeLet

Legal name

Barbon Insurance Group Limited

Website

https://homelet.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

HomeLet is the UK's largest tenant referencing and specialist lettings insurance company, providing credit checks, fraud detection, and landlord/tenant insurance to over 3,700 letting agent partners and direct customers in the UK private rental sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tenant Referencing & Lettings Insurance

NAICS

Services to Buildings and Dwellings (5617)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Lease Administration & Tenant Services (BPAJAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homeowners Insurance (FSAJACAA), Ancillary/Default Services Management (Property Preservation/Insurance Claims/Inspections) (FSALAEAL)

Keywords

• Tenant referencing services
• Lettings insurance
• Landlord insurance
• Rent guarantee
• Tenant screening

Headquarters

HQ city

Lincoln

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Landlord Insurance Products: Insurance products for landlords including Buildings Insurance, Contents Insurance, Rent Guarantee, Emergency Assistance, and Portfolio Insurance for landlords with 2-50 properties. Revenue from policy premiums.
2. Tenant Insurance Products: Contents insurance for tenants with personal possessions coverage up to £50,000 and Tenancy Liability cover up to £10,000. Also standalone Tenancy Liability coverage.
3. Tenant Referencing Services: Tenant referencing services provided to letting agents including credit checks, employment verification, income verification via HMRC Government Gateway, right to rent checks, and affordability assessments. Commission paid to agents (£1.1m+ paid to agents).
4. Rent Protection/Guarantee: Rent Guarantee insurance covering missed rental payments for up to 6 months, evacuation costs up to £50,000, and vacant possession costs.
5. Tenant Services: Referrals to third-party tenant service providers including broadband, TV, phone, removals and utility providers. May involve commission or referral fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HomeLet provides UK tenant referencing services and specialist lettings insurance products through letting agents, landlords, and tenants. Its core referencing offering delivers same-day intelligent screening, instant Tenancy Application Scores, and AI-powered fraud detection via VISTA, while its insurance book covers Landlord Buildings, Contents, Rent Guarantee, Portfolio, and Emergency Assistance, alongside Tenant Contents and Tenancy Liability policies. Distribution is anchored by the HomeLet Connect and My HomeLet platforms for agents and consumers respectively.

Product overview

HomeLet is a comprehensive platform offering tenant referencing, landlord and tenant insurance, and market intelligence for the UK private rental sector. The core HomeLet Connect platform enables letting agents to send tenant applications, receive instant Tenancy Application Scores, and track live reference progress. Landlord Insurance products span Buildings Insurance, Contents Cover, Rent Guarantee, Emergency Assistance, and Portfolio Insurance for multi-property landlords. Tenant products include Contents Insurance (up to £50,000) and Liability Insurance (up to £10,000). The HomeLet Guarantor service provides guarantor support for tenants. The company also publishes the HomeLet Rental Index, a comprehensive UK rental market data report. All services are complemented by customer portals including My HomeLet, the Tenant Application Tracker, and Vision Plus agent portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HomeLet Guarantor: A guarantor service product for tenants requiring additional rental support.
• HomeLet Connect
• HomeLet Rental Index

Products and services

• Tenant Referencing Same-day intelligent tenant referencing delivered to letting agents and landlords, combining credit checks, employment verification, right to rent checks, and affordability assessment with an instant Tenancy Application Score and AI fraud detection.
• VISTA AI Tenant Referencing AI-powered tenant-referencing module that performs digital-forensic assessment of electronic applicant documents, analysing metadata (creation date, edits, editing tools) and visual red flags such as pixilation or branding/formatting changes to minimise tenancy fraud risk.
• Rent Guarantee (Rent Protection) Insurance covering missed rental payments for up to six months, up to £50,000 for professional service and claim costs, and 50% cover for vacant possession for up to three months.
• Landlord Insurance (Buildings & Contents) Specialist buildings and contents cover for UK landlords of private rental property, available standalone or combined with Rent Guarantee and Emergency Assistance.
• Landlord Portfolio Insurance Single-policy multi-property insurance for landlords with 2-50 properties, providing loss of rent cover up to 30% of sum insured, no restrictions on unoccupied properties up to 90 days, £5m property owner's liability and £10m employer's liability.
• Landlord Emergency Assistance Insurance 24-hour emergency helpline providing qualified contractor dispatch for plumbing, security, lost keys, roofing, electricity, and boiler/heating issues, with cover up to £500 per incident and £1,500 maximum per year, no excess.
• Tenant Contents Insurance Contents insurance for tenants covering personal possessions up to £50,000 with optional accidental-damage, specified items, pedal cycle, and legal protection add-ons.
• Tenant Liability Insurance (Tenancy Liability) Standalone cover for accidental damage to landlord's items up to £10,000, designed to reduce end-of-tenancy deposit deductions.
• HomeLet Guarantor Guarantor service for tenants who do not meet standard referencing criteria, providing landlords with additional financial security.
• HomeLet Connect Platform Agent portal letting agents submit tenant applications, track referencing progress in real time, receive instant Tenancy Application Scores, and manage insurance products.
• My HomeLet Customer Portal Self-service portal for tenants and landlords to view insurance policies, download documents, manage logins, and continue saved quotes.
• HomeLet Rental Index UK rental market data report providing average rental values, annual/monthly changes, and regional breakdowns across all UK regions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Process over 1,200 tenant references in one day
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ExperiancoreTechnology or IntegrationHomeLet works with Experian as members of their Rental Exchange scheme. Tenant payment history is shared with Experian to build credit profiles and assist other landlords and organizations with tenant assessments, fraud prevention, and financial standing evaluations.
• PIB Group (Parent Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomeLet is a trading name of Barbon Insurance Group Limited and part of PIB Group. Operates alongside sister companies Let Alliance, Barbon, Rentshield Direct, and Rent4Sure within the PIB Group.
• Let Alliance, Barbon, Rentshield Direct, Rent4SurecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated group companies within PIB Group that share data and services to provide comprehensive referencing and insurance products across the private rental sector.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Goodlord: UK PropTech providing tenant referencing, contract generation, and rent collection for letting agents. Directly competes with HomeLet Connect on referencing workflows and agent experience.
• Let Alliance: Sister company within PIB Group offering tenant referencing and landlord insurance, with overlapping product set and shared agent distribution — a direct internal competitor to HomeLet.
• Rentshield Direct: Sister company within PIB Group offering tenant referencing and rent guarantee to letting agents, directly overlapping HomeLet's core product suite.
• Canopy: UK tenant referencing service with a focus on Open Banking affordability assessments and tenant-facing UX. Competes directly with HomeLet's referencing product line.
• Rentguard: UK rent guarantee and landlord insurance specialist, comparable to HomeLet's Rent Guarantee and landlord insurance products.

Emerging players

• OpenRent: UK online letting platform offering referencing, tenancy setup, and rent collection. An emerging end-to-end player whose integrated workflow could bypass traditional referencing providers.
• Arthur (formerly RentRecovery): UK PropTech platform providing tenant referencing, rent guarantee, and landlord services to letting agents — an emerging bundled offering competing with HomeLet's agent proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Experian: Global credit bureau partner of HomeLet via the Rental Exchange scheme. Provides tenant credit data and screening capabilities that overlap with HomeLet's referencing service.
• TransUnion: Global credit reference agency offering tenant screening and affordability data services to UK letting agents, competing at the data layer underpinning tenant referencing.

Others

• PayProp: Automated rent payment and reconciliation platform for letting agents. Adjacent infrastructure rather than a direct competitor, but increasingly bundled with referencing services offered by HomeLet's competitors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/HomeLet
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKsMF7b0QBdGj0_o4M3p0Tg
• Facebookfacebook.com/HomeLet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/homelet
• Instagraminstagram.com/homelet_

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HomeLet