Right to Rent checks: who to check, how and when

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Before a tenancy starts in England, the landlord or agent must check that every adult who will live in the property has the right to rent. That means every occupier aged 18 or over, named on the agreement or not. The check is done one of three ways: original documents seen with the holder, the Home Office online service with a share code, or a certified digital identity service for British and Irish passports. People with time-limited permission need a follow-up check later.

This guide sets out the scheme at the time of writing from GOV.UK. It is general information and not legal, tax or financial advice. For a complicated immigration status, ask the Home Office through its landlord checking service.

Who to check

GOV.UK says to check all tenants aged 18 and over before a new tenancy starts, whether or not they are named on the agreement. In practice that means every adult who will live there as their only or main home: the applicant, a partner, an adult child, a lodger the tenant intends to take in.

Check everyone, including British citizens, in the same way. Checking only people you assume are not British is discrimination and unlawful. The same applies to referencing, covered in our guide to tenant referencing.

Some accommodation is excluded, including social housing, care homes, hostels and refuges, student halls, accommodation provided by an employer and leases of seven years or more. An ordinary private tenancy is not excluded.

When to check

Before the tenancy starts. For someone with a time-limited right to rent, GOV.UK says the check must be in the 28 days before the start date. Build it into the timetable between agreeing the let and handing over keys: a failed check on moving day is a problem for everyone.

The three ways to check

1. A manual document check

Ask for original documents from the Home Office's list of acceptable documents. Check them in the presence of the holder, in person or by live video call with the originals in your hands. Make sure:

• the documents are genuine and unaltered, and belong to the person;
• the photographs match the person, and dates of birth match across documents;
• any permission is still in date.

Copy each document, including both sides of a card, and record the date of the check. If someone can prove their right to rent with an acceptable original document, you cannot insist they use the online service instead.

2. The online service with a share code

People with a digital immigration status, such as an eVisa or settled or pre-settled status, prove their right to rent online. They give you a share code; you enter it with their date of birth on the Home Office service, check the photograph against the person, and keep a copy of the result page.

3. A digital identity service

For British and Irish citizens with a valid passport, a landlord or agent can use a certified Digital Verification Service, which checks the document and the person's identity digitally. Keep the result the provider gives you. The landlord remains responsible for the check, so use a certified provider.

Follow-up checks

If someone's permission to stay is time-limited, do a follow-up check before the later of:

• the end of their permission to stay, or
• 12 months after your previous check.

No follow-up is needed where there is no time limit. If a follow-up shows the tenant no longer has the right to rent, report it to the Home Office. GOV.UK warns that failing to report can lead to a fine or up to five years in prison.

A diary entry for each follow-up date is part of the tenancy file. Under our property management service we hold those dates for you.

Records

Keep copies of the documents or online results, with the date of the check, for the length of the tenancy and one year after. Store them securely: they are personal data, and data protection law applies.

Penalties

At the time of writing, GOV.UK sets these civil penalties for letting to someone without the right to rent:

The amounts are per person. A landlord who did a correct check and kept the records has a statutory excuse. Knowingly letting to someone without the right to rent is a criminal offence.

Common situations

A new adult moves in during the tenancy. A partner who moves in, or a child who turns 18 and stays, needs a check. Ask tenants to tell you when someone joins the household, and build that into inspections.

A lodger taken by the tenant. If a tenant takes in a lodger with your agreement, decide in writing who will do the check. Otherwise the duty can fall on the tenant as the lodger's landlord.

An applicant without the usual documents. Some people, including some Commonwealth citizens, have the right to rent but not the expected documents. GOV.UK says to contact the Home Office through its Landlord Checking Service, which gives an answer you can rely on.

A share code that will not work. Ask the applicant to generate a new one; codes expire. Do not accept a screenshot in place of the online check.

Students from overseas. Check visas carefully and diarise follow-ups to match the end of their course permission. Bournemouth's two universities bring international students each autumn, so September and October are busy months for these checks.

Using an agent

You can make an agent responsible for the checks in writing, and the agent then carries the liability for them. We carry out Right to Rent checks on every adult occupier for the homes we let in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, keep the records and diarise follow-ups. See our letting agents service, and the landlord legal checklist for the other checks before a tenancy. Our guide to the Renters' Rights Act covers the wider rules that took effect in May 2026.