Right to Rent for Tenants: What You Need to Know
If you are renting in England, your landlord must check your right to rent. This guide explains what you need to provide, your rights as a tenant, and what to do if you face problems.
- Section
- Practical Life in the UK
- Reading time
- 9 min
- Last checked
- 11 March 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- Right to rent checks apply in England only, not Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
- Landlords must check every tenant aged 18 or over before a new tenancy, whatever their nationality.
- A physical biometric residence permit or card can no longer be used. Use a share code from the Home Office view and prove service instead.
- You can choose between a share code and eligible original immigration documents. A landlord cannot insist on the share code.
- If you have no documents and no share code, the landlord's checking service gives the Home Office answer within 2 working days.
In England, landlords must check that tenants have the right to rent before letting a property. As a tenant you either give a share code from the Home Office view and prove service or show eligible original immigration documents, and the choice is yours. A physical biometric residence permit or card can no longer be used. This guide covers what to expect, the rules on discrimination, and the landlord's checking service if you have no documents.
What Is a Right-to-Rent Check?
Since 2016, landlords in England have been required to check that tenants have the right to rent residential accommodation. This is similar to the right-to-work check that employers must conduct. The check must happen before the tenancy begins.
The requirement applies to all new tenancies in England. It does not apply in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Landlords must check every adult aged 18 or over who will live in the property as their main home, even if they are not named on the tenancy agreement. Where your permission to stay is time-limited, the check has to be done in the 28 days before the tenancy starts.
Some accommodation is outside the scheme altogether, including social housing, care homes, hospices and hospitals, hostels and refuges, mobile homes, student accommodation, accommodation provided by a local authority, accommodation that comes with a job, and leases of 7 years or more.
Documents You May Need
What you can show depends on your nationality and your immigration status.
If You Are a British or Irish Citizen
- A British passport, current or expired
- An Irish passport or passport card, current or expired
- A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen
If you have none of those, other combinations of documents may work. British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code. Some landlords offer a registered digital verification service instead of checking your documents in person, so it is worth asking.
If You Are Not a British or Irish Citizen
You have two routes and you choose between them. Your landlord cannot reject your application because you gave them an eligible immigration document rather than a share code.
- A share code. Get one from the Home Office view and prove your right to rent service. You can use the service if you have a UK Visas and Immigration account, or an expired biometric residence permit, which the service accepts for 18 months after the expiry date printed on it.
- Original immigration documents. A passport, a Home Office travel document, or an immigration status document, carrying a Home Office endorsement such as a stamp or a vignette sticker. The endorsement has to show indefinite leave, no time limit, a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode, exemption from immigration control, or limited permission covering the time you will be renting.
A physical biometric residence permit or card can no longer be used for a right to rent check. Those cards stopped being issued at the end of 2024. If that is the document you hold, get a share code instead. The landlord uses your share code on the GOV.UK checking service.
Your Rights as a Tenant
You are protected against discrimination during the right-to-rent process:
- Landlords must check all prospective tenants, not just those who appear to be foreign.
- Landlords cannot refuse to rent to you because of your nationality, race, or ethnicity.
- Landlords cannot charge you for the check. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 sets out the payments a landlord in England may ask for, and a right to rent check fee is not among them.
- If your permission is time-limited, the landlord must repeat the check later on. Where you have applied to extend before your permission ran out, your existing conditions continue under section 3C leave, and the landlord's checking service can confirm that.
- Since 1 May 2026 a landlord in England cannot end an assured periodic tenancy with a section 21 no-fault notice. Ending a tenancy needs a section 8 notice stating a ground for possession, usually with at least 2 months' notice and sometimes up to 4.
If you believe a landlord has discriminated against you, contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission or your local Citizens Advice.
Pending Immigration Applications
If you have applied to extend your visa and are waiting for a decision, you are likely covered by Section 3C leave. Your landlord can verify your right to rent by asking the Home Office for a right to rent check through the landlord's checking service. They need your Home Office reference number to use it, and they get an answer within 2 working days.
The check can confirm a right to rent where the Home Office holds your documents, where you have an outstanding case or appeal, or where the Home Office has given you "permission to rent". Landlords who need help with a check can call the landlord's helpline on 0300 790 6268, Monday to Thursday 9am to 4:45pm and Friday 9am to 4:30pm.
Follow-Up Checks
If your permission to stay has a time limit, your landlord must do a follow-up check. GOV.UK tells landlords to do it just before whichever is later of the end of your permission to stay and 12 months after their previous check. There is no follow-up check where there is no time limit on your permission.
If you have extended your permission, give your landlord a new share code or your new documents. If your application is still with the Home Office, the landlord uses the checking service again. Landlords must keep copies of what they check for as long as you are their tenant and for one year after.
Practical Tips for Tenants
- Generate your share code before viewing properties so you can provide it quickly.
- Keep copies of all documents you provide to landlords.
- If you are on a visa with an expiry date, proactively inform your landlord when you renew.
- If a landlord refuses to rent to you despite valid documents, record the interaction and seek advice.
- When renting as a visa holder, understanding right-to-rent rules helps you prepare.
What Is at Stake for the Landlord
The penalties explain why landlords ask. Renting in England to someone without the right to rent carries a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for each lodger or £10,000 for each occupier on a first breach, rising to £10,000 for each lodger and £20,000 for each occupier on a repeat breach. The penalty is reduced by 30% if it is paid within 21 days. A landlord who knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, that the person had no right to rent can be sent to prison for up to 5 years or fined.
Next Steps
Before searching for accommodation, get your share code or documents ready. The published rules on discrimination are set out above, and Citizens Advice and Shelter both take questions from tenants.
Related guides:
Questions and answers
What documents do I need for a right-to-rent check?
British and Irish citizens show a passport (current or expired), an Irish passport card, or a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen. Everyone else can use either a share code from the Home Office 'view and prove' service or their original immigration documents, and your landlord cannot insist on one rather than the other. One document is out: a physical biometric residence permit or card can no longer be used for a right to rent check, so if that is what you have, get a share code instead.
Can a landlord refuse to rent to me because of my nationality?
No. Landlords must not discriminate based on nationality, race, or ethnicity. They must conduct the same check for all prospective tenants. If you believe you have been discriminated against, you can report it to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
What if I cannot prove my right to rent?
If you do not have the right documents or a valid share code, your landlord asks the Home Office for a right to rent check through the landlord's checking service. They need your Home Office reference number, and they get an answer within 2 working days. The check can confirm a right to rent where, for example, the Home Office holds your documents, you have an outstanding case or appeal, or the Home Office has given you 'permission to rent'.
Does right to rent apply in Scotland?
No. Right to rent checks apply in England only. GOV.UK says you do not need to prove your right to rent in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.