Right to rent check
A right to rent check is the immigration status verification that a landlord or letting agent must carry out for every adult who will occupy a rented property in England as their main home, before the tenancy or licence begins. It is an immigration compliance step that sits alongside, but is entirely separate from, tenant referencing, affordability assessment, and credit checks. A right to rent check cannot be charged for, it is a regulatory obligation of the landlord, not a service provided to the tenant.
The check must be completed before the tenancy begins, must cover every adult occupier over the age of 18 regardless of whether they are named on the tenancy agreement, and must be documented in a way that establishes the landlord's statutory excuse in case of challenge. For an explanation of the right to rent scheme itself, including who must comply, who is exempt, and the penalty structure, see the August definition of right to rent.
How to carry out the check: British and Irish nationals
British and Irish citizens prove their right to rent by producing one or more acceptable physical identity documents. An expired British or Irish passport is acceptable for right to rent purposes, unlike most other contexts, the passport does not need to be current. Other acceptable documents include a UK birth certificate combined with a document showing the person's National Insurance number, or a full UK driving licence.
For British and Irish nationals, the online Home Office checking service is not available, these individuals cannot generate a share code and must rely on physical documents. The landlord should inspect the original document in person (or via a video call using the online identity service provider route where available), satisfy themselves it is genuine and belongs to the person, make a clear copy, and retain it with a note of the date the check was carried out.
How to carry out the check: non-British and non-Irish nationals
For non-British and non-Irish nationals, the standard route since 2022 is the Home Office online right to rent service. Most people with permission to remain in the UK now hold eVisa status, a digital immigration status, rather than a physical document, meaning the online check is the primary rather than the fallback route for this group. The tenant uses the Home Office Share Code service to generate a time-limited share code, which they provide to the landlord alongside their date of birth. The landlord enters these details at https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-rent to view the individual's immigration status.
The landlord must take a screenshot of the Home Office result page showing the person's status and the date of the check, and retain this as the record of the check. Printouts or photographs of the screen are also acceptable. The share code expires after 90 days, a check using an expired code does not establish a statutory excuse and the check must be repeated.
Some non-British and non-Irish nationals still hold physical immigration documents, biometric residence permits, Indefinite Leave to Remain stamps, or specific visa types, and may use these in place of a share code. The current list of acceptable documents is maintained in the Home Office landlord's guide.
Follow-up checks for time-limited status
Where a person's right to rent is time-limited, for example, they have pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or a visa with an expiry date, the landlord must carry out a follow-up check before the earlier of:
the expiry of the person's permission to stay; or
12 months after the initial check.
If the follow-up check reveals the person no longer has the right to rent, the landlord must report this to the Home Office. Failing to carry out a required follow-up check does not invalidate the statutory excuse established by the initial check, but does expose the landlord to civil penalty liability from the point the follow-up should have been done.
Record-keeping and the statutory excuse
The right to rent check is only worth doing if the records are kept correctly. A landlord establishes a statutory excuse, the defence against civil penalty, by carrying out the check before the tenancy begins, seeing acceptable documents or using the online service, making and keeping copies or screenshots, and retaining those records for the duration of the tenancy and for one year after it ends. Records must be available for inspection by the Home Office on request.
The most common compliance failures are:
checking the right documents but not keeping copies;
using an expired share code;
checking some but not all adult occupiers; and
failing to carry out required follow-up checks for time-limited status.
All four are avoidable with a consistent, documented process.
August's document management feature stores right to rent check records, copies of documents seen, online check screenshots, and follow-up check dates, against the correct tenancy, creating the audit trail needed to establish a statutory excuse.
For the full step-by-step guide to conducting right to rent checks, including documents lists, digital check screenshots, and follow-up check procedures, see the August guide to right to rent checks for landlords. For a full explanation of how share codes work and how to use the Home Office online service, see the August guide to the right to rent and the share code.
Frequently asked questions
What is a right to rent check?
A right to rent check is the immigration status verification a landlord must carry out for every adult over 18 who will occupy a rented property in England as their main home, before the tenancy begins. It must cover all adult occupiers, not just those named on the tenancy agreement, and must be documented to establish the landlord's statutory excuse. It is separate from tenant referencing and cannot be charged to the tenant as a fee.
How do I check a tenant's right to rent?
For British and Irish nationals, inspect an original acceptable document, such as a current or expired British or Irish passport, in person, make a copy, and retain it with a note of the date. For non-British and non-Irish nationals, ask the tenant to generate a share code via the Home Office online service, enter the code and their date of birth at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent, and take a screenshot of the result. Keep all records for the duration of the tenancy and for one year afterwards.
What is a share code for right to rent?
A share code is a nine-character code that a person with online immigration status generates through the Home Office online service. It is time-limited and expires after 90 days. The landlord enters the code and the person's date of birth at the Home Office checking service to view their immigration status. The landlord must screenshot the result as their record of the check.
Do I need to carry out a follow-up right to rent check?
Yes, if the person's right to rent is time-limited. A follow-up check is required before the earlier of: the expiry of their permission to stay in the UK; or 12 months after the initial check. Where a follow-up check reveals the person no longer has the right to rent, the landlord must report this to the Home Office.
