Right to Rent UK: Landlord Guide to Immigration Checks

Where the scheme applies

The right-to-rent scheme was created by the Immigration Act 2014 and applies to residential property in England only. It was never brought into force in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. A landlord letting a flat in Glasgow, Cardiff or Belfast has no right-to-rent duty and no share code to ask for. Everything below describes England.

The scheme mirrors the right-to-work check employers must do, but the two are separate schemes with separate penalties and separate geography: right to work applies across the United Kingdom, right to rent does not.

Who you must check

Before a new tenancy starts you must check every tenant aged 18 or over who will use the property as their only or main home. GOV.UK says this applies even if:

• they are not named on the tenancy agreement
• there is no tenancy agreement
• the tenancy agreement is not in writing

If the tenant has permission to stay in the UK for a limited time, the check must be done in the 28 days before the tenancy starts.

GOV.UK lists accommodation that needs no check: social housing; a care home, hospice or hospital; a hostel or refuge; a mobile home; student accommodation; accommodation provided by a local authority; accommodation provided as part of a job ("tied accommodation"); and property on a lease of 7 years or longer.

The three ways to do a check

GOV.UK gives landlords three options:

1. check the tenant's original documents yourself
2. use a registered Digital Verification Service to check the documents
3. view the tenant's right to rent online, if they have a share code

Checking original documents

Work out which adults will use the property as their main home, ask them for original documents, and check the documents with the tenant present. GOV.UK asks you to confirm the documents are originals and belong to the tenant, that the photographs are of the tenant, that the dates of birth match across the documents, that nothing is too damaged or looks altered, and that any difference in names is explained by a supporting document such as a marriage certificate. For a tenant who is not a British or Irish citizen you also check that their permission to stay has not ended.

A British or Irish citizen can usually prove their right to rent with a British passport (current or expired), an Irish passport or passport card (current or expired), or a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen. Other combinations of documents may work. The full list is in the Home Office user guide to right-to-rent document checks, which sets out List A documents (an unlimited right to rent, so one check at the start of the tenancy is enough) and List B documents (a time-limited right to rent, so a follow-up check falls due).

Checking with a share code

A tenant with an eVisa, with settled or pre-settled status, with a biometric residence card or permit, or who used the UK Immigration: ID Check app when applying, can give you a share code. Enter the code and their date of birth on the GOV.UK service, then save or print the profile page you are shown and record the date you did the check.

Two limits matter here. British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code, so you must check their original documents. And if a tenant can prove their right to rent with an accepted original document, GOV.UK says you cannot insist they use the online service instead.

Biometric cards are not accepted

GOV.UK states plainly that you cannot accept biometric residence cards or permits. If a tenant produces one, ask them for a share code. Biometric residence permits stopped being issued at the end of 2024 and immigration status is now held as an eVisa in a UKVI account.

You can start a check on the GOV.UK right-to-rent guidance for landlords.

Keeping records

Make a copy that cannot be changed, such as a photocopy or a good quality photograph. For passports, copy every page carrying the expiry date or the holder's details, including endorsements such as a work visa. Copy all other documents in full. Record the date you made the copy. Keep the copies for as long as the person is your tenant and for one year after that, and follow data protection law.

Follow-up checks, and the duty to report

If there is a time limit on your tenant's permission to stay, you must do a follow-up check. GOV.UK sets the timing as just before the later of two dates: the end of the tenant's permission to stay, or 12 months after your previous check. There is no follow-up check where the tenant's permission has no time limit.

If the tenant fails the follow-up check, you must tell the Home Office. GOV.UK warns that you could be fined or sent to prison for up to 5 years if a tenant fails a follow-up check and you do not report it.

If a tenant has no acceptable document and no valid share code, you must use the Home Office landlord's checking service. That service can tell you whether the person still has the right to rent — for example because the Home Office holds their documents, because they have an outstanding case or appeal, or because the Home Office has told them they have "permission to rent". You need the tenant's Home Office reference number, and you get an answer within 2 working days.

For help with a check, GOV.UK gives the landlord's helpline as 0300 790 6268, open Monday to Thursday 9am to 4:45pm and Friday 9am to 4:30pm.

Penalties

GOV.UK publishes a table of civil penalties. The amount depends on the type of accommodation and on whether you have had a penalty before:

• Lodger in a private household: 5,000 pounds for a first penalty, 10,000 pounds for a further one.
• Tenant in rented accommodation: 10,000 pounds for a first penalty, 20,000 pounds for a further one.

You can save 30 per cent by paying within 21 days of the penalty notice. You can object within 28 days of the "given" date on the notice, and appeal within 28 days of the objection outcome.

Separately, renting property in England to someone you knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, did not have the right to rent is a criminal offence. GOV.UK says you could be sent to prison for 5 years or fined.

These are not the same as the penalties for illegal working, which are set at different amounts under a different scheme.

Avoiding discrimination

GOV.UK is direct about this: check all new tenants, because it is against the law to check only the people you think are not British citizens, and you must not discriminate against anyone because of where they are from. In practice that means:

• apply the same process to every prospective tenant, not only to those who appear to be foreign nationals
• do not refuse to let on the basis of someone's accent, appearance or name
• accept any document from the published lists
• do not demand a share code from someone who has produced an accepted original document

The landlords' code of practice sets out the detail, including the separate code on avoiding unlawful discrimination.

Letting agents and subletting

You can ask an agent who manages or lets your property to carry out the check for you. GOV.UK says you should have that agreement in writing; the agreement is what transfers liability for a penalty to the agent. If a tenant sublets without your knowledge, the tenant is responsible for checking any sub-tenants and is liable for any penalty.

If the tenant is a Commonwealth citizen

A Commonwealth citizen who does not have the right documents may still have the right to rent. GOV.UK asks landlords to check with the Home Office rather than refuse the letting, and publishes separate guidance for right-to-rent checks on undocumented Commonwealth citizens.

Next steps

Read the Home Office user guide to right-to-rent document checks so you know which documents are on List A and which are on List B. Set up a way of tracking when follow-up checks fall due. If you use an agent, put the arrangement in writing.

Related guides:

• Right to Rent (Tenant Guide)
• Right to Work in the UK
• eVisa UK Guide
• Preventing Illegal Working

Questions and answers