Landlords letting properties in England must check that all tenants, aged over 18, have the Right to Rent in the UK. You don't need to do this check in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
OpenRent's referencing reports offer advice for landlords on how to check a tenant's right to rent. Unfortunately, we can't check a tenant's right to rent for you, since the law says that the original documents must be checked in person, with the tenant present.
The report will, however, let you know in detail what you are required to do to make sure you meet your legal obligations as a landlord. You can also check this Government guide for further information.
Old Rules:
Up to 30th June 2021, citizens of countries in the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) could prove their right to rent in the UK by providing a passport, residence card or ID card from their country. However, because of the UK's decision to leave the EU these documents are no longer sufficient to prove their right to rent.
New Rules:
Since 1st July 2021, a citizen from an EU/EEA country needs to prove that they have either "settled" or "pre-settled" status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
Tenants should be able to prove their status using their e-visa.
How to Check an EU/EEA Citizen's Right to Rent
Checking the right to rent of an EU/EEA citizen is slightly different to other right to rent checks.
Most EU/EEA citizens won't have a physical document for you to check. Instead you should ask the tenant(s) to provide their "share code" and date of birth.
Once you have the tenant's share code and you can verify it on the government's website.
Landlords should make a note of the date when the checks were carried out. Right to rent checks should normally be done with the tenant(s) physically present. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has temporarily suspended this requirement.
What to do if Your Tenant Doesn't Have a Share Code:
If your tenant doesn't currently have a share code then it's possible that their application is still being processed. In that case we recommend you contact the Home Office to verify that the application is ongoing.
Where to Get Further Information and Guidance
We advise all landlords to read the government's guidance on right to rent, which can be found here. The government also provides a free helpline: 0300 790 6268.
Further information on how to check documents: https://www.gov.uk/check-tenant-right-to-rent-documents/how-to-check
Guidance on letting to EU tenants: https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-rent