What are Right to Rent checks?
All landlords of private rented accommodation in England, or agents working on their behalf, are required to carry out Right to Rent checks for new tenancy agreements to determine whether all adult occupiers aged 18 and over have the right to live in the UK.
Right to Rent checks do not apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. However, agents must conduct Right to Rent checks for property in England, even if the agency is based outside of the country.
Since 1 October 2022, prescribed checks must be carried out in one of three ways:
- a manual Right to Rent check applicable to all citizens
- a Right to Rent check using IDVT via the services of an identity service provider (IDSP) but only for British and Irish citizens.
- a Home Office online Right to Rent check (an eVisa share code) for all non-British and non-Irish citizens.
Landlords and agents who can show they have correctly conducted an initial Right to Rent check and any follow-up checks have a statutory excuse against a penalty. If checks have not been carried out in the proper manner, agents or landlords will be liable for a criminal or civil penalty depending on the circumstances.
Our involvement
We regularly attend the Home Office’s Right to Rent – Landlords Consultancy Panel and are keen to hear feedback from members on any issues so we can represent the sector, email [email protected].
Right to Rent checks are an important but complex requirement when renting out property in England. We work closely with the Home Office to ensure that agents have the correct information to give to landlords and to perform the checks themselves.
Propertymark welcomes immigration controls moving to more digital and modernised systems, which make it easier to check a tenant's eligibility and to prove a statutory excuse. With new rules and regulations coming in regularly, we keep on top of the changes and update our members as quickly as possible.
Our Fact Sheets and FAQs are under constant review and our legal helpline can assist if members have a specific enquiry.
Helping members to comply
Our easy to read Immigration Act and Right to Rent fact sheets help break down the legislation highlighting the changes, who it applies to and most importantly what you actually need to do.
Fact sheet: Right to Rent Immigration Checks
Under the Immigration Act 2014, since 1 February 2016, all landlords of private rented accommodation in England have been required to carry out Right to Rent checks for new tenancy agreements to determine whether all adult occupiers aged 18 and over have the right to live in the UK.
Fact sheet: Immigration Act 2016
New agent and landlord offences contained within the Immigration Act 2016 came into effect in England on 1 December 2016. The aim of the Act is to tackle illegal immigration by making it harder to live and work illegally in the UK.
Right to Rent FAQs
We have worked with the Home Office and UK Border Agency to answer the questions that are widely asked by landlords and letting agents regarding Right to Rent.
Useful links
- Right to rent immigration checks: landlords' code of practice
- Right to Rent document checks: a user guide
- Guidance on the Windrush scheme
EU Settlement Scheme
The EU Settlement Scheme was introduced by the Home Office in 2019 as a way for EU citizens to apply for a pre-settled or settled status within the UK as freedom movement ended with the EU on 31 December 2020 as a result of Brexit. From 30 June 2021, the EU Settlement Scheme no longer accepted new applications for the majority of cases.
Simpler Right to Rent checks for tenants with pre-settled status
The Home Office has made changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) designed to simplify the Right to Rent and similar checks for pre-settled status holders. Letting agents and landlords will only need to carry out a check at the beginning of a tenancy.