What is right to rent?
Right to rent is a check that the landlord has to undertake to check that you have the right to reside in the UK and therefore the right to rent a property. It is a means of making sure that the people occupying the property have the right to be in the UK. “Permanent right to rent” refers to those with a permanent right to stay in the UK. “Time-limited right to rent” refers to those who only have a right to stay in the UK for a limited amount of time.
What are the requirements?
Landlords must not allow anyone over the age of 18 to occupy a property as their only or main home in England unless they can establish the adult has a right to reside in the UK. Landlords do not need to undertake the check in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
How will the Landlord undertake the right to rent check?
There are a number of different ways to perform a right to rent check:
- a manual check in person
- Checking using the “share code” and the government's online service
Which type of check is relevant to me?
A manual check should be carried out for anyone who does not have a share code including UK and Irish citizens.
“Share codes” are only for people who have:
- a biometric residence card or permit;
- settled or pre-settled status;
- applied for a visa and used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan their identity document on their phone.
How will the Landlord undertake the manual checks
To undertake a manual check the Landlord should:
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Agree a time to meet with all adult occupiers (aged over 18) in person
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Ask all adult occupiers to provide original documents that verify their right to rent in the UK
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Check that the documents meet the legal requirements, are genuine, and belong to the tenant(s). You can see a list of acceptable documents here. Landlords are not required to accept all of these documents and a landlord may just require a passport as proof of right to rent.
Please note that nationals from some countries can establish a time-limited right to rent by providing the landlord with a passport and proof of entry to the UK within the last six months. As of 1 July 2021 this can be done for nationals from the EU, EEA, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or the United States of America.
Other nationals may have a stamp in their passport which shows when they entered the UK and the amount of time that they are allowed to remain in the UK which can be used as evidence of your right to rent.
How will the Landlord undertake the check using a “share code”
If you have a “share code” then you can evidence your right to rent by providing the code and your date of birth to the Landlord. The landlord can then check your right to rent by entering this into the online system found here.
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.
List of acceptable documents: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-rent-document-checks-a-user-guide
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
How to check Right to Rent where the documents are unavailable: https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/lcs-application.ofml