Translations for landlords and letting agents

Right to rent: nothing to translate

Private landlords in England must check that every adult tenant has the right to rent before the tenancy starts. GOV.UK’s guidance for landlords sets out how: a Home Office online check using the tenant’s share code for those with an eVisa, or an inspection of original documents from the prescribed lists, which for a Turkish national means a passport with a valid visa or a biometric card. The lists are built around documents the landlord can read, and no translation is asked for. If a letting agent tells you to translate your Turkish ID card or nüfus kayıt örneği for the right-to-rent check, they are mistaken: those documents are not on the lists and translating them does not put them there. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have the right-to-rent scheme, but their agents run the same referencing described below.

Where translation actually matters: referencing

Agents pass applicants to referencing companies that verify identity, income, credit history and previous tenancies, usually within 48 hours. Newly arrived Turkish tenants fail these checks for mundane reasons: no UK credit footprint, income paid in Türkiye, and a landlord reference from Kadıköy that nobody can read. The workarounds are familiar. Show income with a Turkish employer letter, payslips and bank statements; show rental history with the Turkish tenancy agreement (kira sözleşmesi) and a letter from the previous landlord; or pay rent in advance and show the Turkish savings it comes from. Each of those needs an English translation the referencing agency will accept, and speed matters more than anywhere else on this site, because the flat goes to the next applicant.

Turkish documents that come up

• Employer letters confirming role, salary and start date, for remote or posted workers paid in Türkiye.
• Payslips (maaş bordrosu).
• Turkish bank statements showing savings for rent in advance.
• Previous tenancy agreement (kira sözleşmesi) and a landlord reference letter.
• Student certificates and sponsor letters for students whose parents in Türkiye pay the rent.
• A Turkish guarantor’s income and tapu, although most agents insist on a UK-based guarantor, so ask before you translate.

Common reasons references fail

• The employer letter has no letterhead, no contact details or no signatory name, so the referencing agency cannot verify it. Ask the employer for those before sending it to us.
• A handwritten kira sözleşmesi on a stationery-shop form is translated without the landlord’s name and phone number, which is the only thing the agency wanted.
• Salary figures are converted to sterling in the translation; agencies convert themselves and want the lira figures.
• The translation arrives after the 48-hour referencing window has closed.
• A guarantor abroad is offered without checking that the agent will accept one; translating the guarantor’s documents is wasted money if the answer is no.

How we prepare letting documents

These are short documents and we treat them as urgent by default. Send photos or scans and the agent’s deadline; single-page letters and payslips received before 11:00 UK time are returned the same day, and a three-month statement set the next working day. Each page carries our certification statement with the company’s Ankara registry details, the date, stamp and signature, and the original is attached so the referencing agency can compare. Agencies and agents accept the PDF by e-mail or upload. An employer letter or payslip is one page (£10); a tenancy agreement 2–3 pages (£20–30); a monthly bank statement 2–3 pages. No UK VAT is charged. Before ordering, read Turkish proof of address if an agent has asked for address history from Türkiye, and can I translate my own documents? for why agencies refuse self-translations.