Tenancy Setup & Management
Right to rent checks: a landlord's guide for 2026 | August
How to do a right to rent check
Every landlord in England who lets to a new tenant must carry out a right to rent check before the tenancy begins. It is a legal requirement under the Immigration Act 2014, it applies to every adult occupier regardless of nationality, and getting it wrong now carries penalties of up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for a repeat. The process changed in important ways over 2024 and 2025, as physical residence cards gave way to digital status, so this guide sets out how to do the check correctly as the rules stand in 2026.
What is the right to rent scheme?
The right to rent scheme requires private landlords in England to confirm that every adult who will occupy a property as their only or main home has the legal right to rent here. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 2014 and has applied across England since 1 February 2016. It does not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The legal responsibility sits with the landlord, not the letting agent, unless there is a written agreement that the agent will carry out the checks. Even where an agent runs the letting, the landlord keeps the liability if no such agreement is in place, so confirm in writing who is responsible before a tenancy starts.
Who must be checked?
Every adult aged 18 or over who will occupy the property as their main or only home must be checked, whatever their nationality. That covers the named tenant or tenants on the tenancy agreement, any other adult who will live there even if unnamed, lodgers where you let to them directly, and sub-tenants, although in a subletting arrangement the head tenant becomes responsible for checking their sub-tenant. Children under 18 do not need to be checked, and neither do short-term guests; only those occupying the property as their main residence are in scope.
The three ways to carry out a right to rent check
There are three recognised methods, and which one applies depends on the documents the tenant holds. The COVID-era "adjusted check", which allowed landlords to view documents over a video call and accept scans, ended on 30 September 2022, so any tenancy beginning since 1 October 2022 must use one of the three methods below.
The first is a manual document check, where you examine the tenant's original physical documents in person and keep a dated copy. This is the route for British and Irish citizens with a passport, and for anyone whose status is still evidenced by a valid physical document such as a passport carrying a visa endorsement.
The second is the Home Office online checking service, which is now the default for anyone whose immigration status is held digitally. This includes holders of settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, holders of an eVisa, and former Biometric Residence Permit holders, because physical BRPs have been phased out and a card on its own is no longer acceptable proof. The tenant generates a share code, gives it to you with their date of birth, and you confirm their status on the gov.uk service. The detail of how the share code works, and how a tenant generates one, is covered in our dedicated guide to the right to rent and the share code, so this guide does not repeat it.
The third is a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP), a private company certified by the Home Office to verify a British or Irish citizen's passport digitally without meeting them in person. This route has been available since 6 April 2022 and is the remote option that replaced the old video-call check. You must use a provider on the government's certified list, published on gov.uk.
All three methods, done correctly, give you a statutory excuse, which is a complete defence against a civil penalty if the tenant later turns out not to have had the right to rent.
Step by step: the manual document check
For a tenant whose status is evidenced by a physical document, follow the same steps every time:
Ask the tenant for their original documents. Do not accept photocopies or screenshots.
Check the documents are genuine in the tenant's presence. Confirm the photograph matches the person, the dates are consistent, and there are no signs of tampering.
Make a clear copy of every page that shows the holder's details and any leave endorsement.
Record the date of the check on the copy. This is your evidence that it was done before the tenancy began.
Store the copy securely for the length of the tenancy plus one year.
If the document shows time-limited leave (List B), diarise the date for the follow-up check.
A check done over an unverified video call or against a scan no longer gives a statutory excuse, so for a tenant you cannot meet in person, use the online service or a certified IDSP instead.
List A and List B documents
The Home Office divides acceptable evidence into two lists. List A gives an unlimited right to rent and is checked once; List B shows a time-limited right and requires a repeat check.
List A, unlimited right to rent, includes a current or expired UK passport, an Irish passport or passport card, a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme verified through the online service, and certain document combinations such as a UK birth or adoption certificate together with an official document showing the person's National Insurance number.
List B, time-limited right to rent, includes a current passport or travel document carrying a valid visa or leave endorsement, pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme verified online, an eVisa or other digital status showing time-limited leave verified online, and a positive notice from the Landlord Checking Service. Where status is digital, including for former BRP holders, you verify it through the online service rather than by inspecting a card.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
Since 1 July 2021, an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen cannot prove their right to rent with a passport or national identity card. Their status must be verified through the online service using a share code, usually on the basis of settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or another form of leave. Settled status is an unlimited right to rent checked once; pre-settled status is time-limited and requires a follow-up check. A citizen with no EU Settlement Scheme status may hold another form of leave, which is again verified online, but a person with no valid status at all cannot be let to.
Repeat checks: when and how
A time-limited (List B) right to rent requires a follow-up check, timed to whichever is earlier of the expiry of the tenant's leave or twelve months from your last check. Diarise it when you do the first check, alongside your other recurring dates using our month-by-month landlord calendar, and record the new expiry date if the follow-up confirms continued leave. If a follow-up shows the tenant no longer has the right to rent, your legal duty is to report it to the Home Office at [email protected]; you are not required to evict, as that is a matter for the Home Office. Continuing to let after you know a tenant lacks the right to rent, without reporting it, can expose you to criminal liability.
Record keeping
Clear, dated records are what protect you if the Home Office investigates. Keep a clear copy of every document checked, or a printout of the online result, with the date of the check recorded on it, for the length of the tenancy plus one year after it ends. Right to rent records contain personal data and fall under UK data protection law, so store them securely rather than in a general inbox or shared folder. If an agent carried out the check, get a copy of the records and written confirmation it was completed before the tenancy started, rather than relying on the agent to hold them.
Penalties for getting it wrong
The civil penalty regime was strengthened from 22 January 2024, and the maximums are now substantial: up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for a repeat, and up to £5,000 per lodger for a first breach and £10,000 for a repeat. A repeat breach is one occurring after you have already received a penalty notice. Beyond the civil penalty, a landlord who knowingly lets to someone without the right to rent, or who keeps letting once they know, commits a criminal offence under section 33A of the Immigration Act 2014, carrying up to five years' imprisonment. A proper check using one of the three methods gives you the statutory excuse that prevents the civil penalty arising.
Right to rent in HMOs
The obligation applies to a house in multiple occupation exactly as it does to a single let: every adult who occupies the HMO as their main home must be checked before their tenancy or licence begins. Where rooms turn over, a new check is required for each new occupant, because checks done on the other occupants do not extend to a new arrival. In a student HMO, home students will usually hold straightforward List A documents, but an international student on a visa will have time-limited leave verified online and a follow-up check to diarise. The right to rent check is only one of several HMO duties, so if you let shared housing it is worth reading our guides to mandatory HMO licensing and HMO fire safety requirements alongside it.
Right to rent and the Renters' Rights Act 2025
The Renters' Rights Act 2025, in force since 1 May 2026, does not change the right to rent scheme itself: the duty to check, the three methods and the penalties are unchanged. It does, though, add a possession route that connects to it. Where a tenant loses the right to rent during a tenancy and the Home Office serves the relevant notice, the landlord can seek possession under Ground 7B, a ground under Section 8. The Act also brings wider pre-tenancy obligations, including letting on a periodic tenancy from the outset and giving the tenant a written statement of terms with the current How to Rent guide. A national Private Rented Sector database is also planned under the Act, with registration expected to become a pre-letting requirement once it launches, though it is not yet operational. Our guide to the reforms now in force sets out the full pre-tenancy checklist under the new regime.
Avoiding discrimination
Because the check is required for every adult occupier whatever their nationality, applying it selectively, for example only to tenants who appear to be from overseas, is unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Run the same process for everyone: ask the same categories of document, check them the same way, and record them uniformly. Doing so is also the simplest way to be sure you never miss a check. The principles of assessing applicants fairly carry through to the rest of your selection, which our guide to finding good tenants covers. You can run right to rent alongside your other pre-tenancy compliance in August's compliance checklist, so nothing is missed before a tenancy starts.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still check a tenant over a video call?
No. The COVID-era adjusted checks ended on 30 September 2022. A manual check now means examining original documents in person. To check a tenant remotely, use the online service for anyone with digital status, or a certified IDSP for a British or Irish citizen.
My tenant has a BRP card. Do I just look at it?
No. Physical Biometric Residence Permits have been phased out, and a card on its own is no longer valid proof. The tenant proves their status online through their UKVI account by giving you a share code, which you check on the gov.uk service.
What if a tenant has an application pending with the Home Office?
Use the Landlord Checking Service on gov.uk. It returns a positive or negative notice within two working days, and a positive notice gives you a statutory excuse for twelve months.
Do I need to check a British citizen who has lived here their whole life?
Yes. The check applies to every adult occupier regardless of where they were born. For most British citizens a current passport makes it straightforward, but it cannot be skipped. You can keep every check, document and renewal date in one place with August.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Landlord and tenant law is subject to change, and the information in this article reflects the position at the time of writing. You should always seek independent legal or professional advice before taking any action in relation to your property or tenancy.
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August Team
The August editorial team lives and breathes rental property. They work closely with a panel of experienced landlords and industry partners across the UK, turning real-world portfolio and tenancy experience into clear, practical guidance for small landlords.
