Right to Rent Checks, What Landlords Must Verify Before Letting a Property

What are Right to Rent Checks?

Right to Rent is a legal obligation on private landlords in England to check that all adult tenants and occupiers have the legal right to reside in the United Kingdom before the tenancy begins. The requirement was introduced by the Immigration Act 2014 and extended by the Immigration Act 2016.

Right to Rent checks apply in England only. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland operate under different arrangements.

The Home Office publishes a landlord's guide and a statutory code of practice on Right to Rent, which sets out the detailed requirements and provides worked examples of acceptable documents.

Who Must Be Checked?

A landlord must carry out Right to Rent checks on **all adults (aged 18 or over) who will occupy the property as their only or main home**, including:

• All named tenants on the tenancy agreement
• Any other adults living in the property (e.g. a partner not named on the tenancy)
• Permitted occupiers

The check must be carried out **before the tenancy begins**, not after.

Certain tenants are exempt from the requirement, including:

• Social housing tenants (where the landlord is a local authority or registered provider)
• Tenants of tied accommodation
• Students in purpose-built student accommodation managed by the educational institution

What Documents Are Acceptable?

The Home Office divides acceptable documents into two lists. List A documents provide an unlimited Right to Rent; List B documents provide a time-limited Right to Rent and require follow-up checks.

**List A documents (examples):**

• A valid UK or Irish passport
• A valid Biometric Residence Permit confirming indefinite leave to remain or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• A birth certificate plus a document showing National Insurance number (for British citizens without a passport)

**List B documents (examples):**

• A valid Biometric Residence Permit confirming limited leave to remain
• A valid visa showing current leave to enter/remain
• A share code confirming pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

The Online Right to Rent Check

Since April 2022, landlords can use the Home Office's **online Right to Rent checking service** for:

• Nationals of EU, EEA, and Swiss who have status under the EU Settlement Scheme (using a Home Office share code)
• Persons who hold a Biometric Residence Permit or Biometric Residence Card
• Persons who have been issued an eVisa

The online check produces a result showing the individual's Right to Rent status directly from Home Office immigration records. Landlords should retain a screenshot of the online check result with the date on which it was obtained.

For British and Irish citizens without digital immigration status, document-based checks remain the standard method. Landlords may carry out these checks in person, via a video call, or through a certified identity service provider (IDSP) for valid passports and other identity documents.

Conducting and Recording the Check

A landlord must:

1. Obtain original documents from the prospective tenant (or conduct an online check where applicable)

2. Check the documents are genuine and that the photographs are consistent with the person presenting them

3. Check all dates and permissions are current and sufficient

4. **Make a clear copy** of the document (both sides of a card document)

5. **Record the date** on which the check was conducted

6. **Retain the copy** for at least one year after the tenancy ends

Copies may be kept in paper or digital form. Property Passport UK enables landlords to upload compliance records, including Right to Rent check confirmation documents, to a property's passport record, providing a secure and date-stamped audit trail.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

A landlord who lets to a tenant who does not have the Right to Rent faces a significant civil penalty, or in serious cases, a criminal prosecution:

A landlord is not liable if they carried out the correct checks in good faith and obtained documents that appeared to be genuine. This is the "statutory excuse", which is only available if the check was conducted correctly and the copies were retained.