Right to Rent Checks: Step-by-Step Guide

If you let to adults in England, you are now the Home Office's unpaid border guard: do the checks, keep the copies, or risk a five-figure fine per person.

"This guide provides general information about UK landlord tax obligations. It is not financial or legal advice. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. Consider consulting a qualified accountant or solicitor for advice specific to your situation."

1. Who must do Right to Rent checks, and when

Law: Immigration Act 2014 Part 3 Chapter 1, strengthened by the Immigration Act 2016.

Where it applies

Applies only to residential tenancies in England. There is currently no Right to Rent scheme in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

Who you must check

• You must check every adult occupier aged 18+ who will use the property as their only or main home, whether or not they are named on the tenancy.
• You must not selectively check people based on nationality, appearance, or name -- that is where discrimination claims come from.

When

• Initial check must be done before the tenancy starts (before occupation).
• For people with time-limited rights (List B), you must do follow-up checks before their permission expires.
• If you use an agent, your contract must say who is responsible for checks; liability follows whoever is named, but if you do not specify it still lands on you.

2. How to do the check: manual, online, and digital

Three routes, all valid if done properly:

A. Manual check (physical documents)

Steps (the "obtain -- check -- copy" process):

1. Obtain original documents from the official lists (List A or List B).
2. Check them in the presence of the holder (in person or live video):

• Are they genuine and unaltered?
• Does the photo look like the person?
• Are dates consistent and valid?

1. Copy the documents (clear, uneditable scans or photocopies):

• For passports: copy photo page and any relevant visa/endorsements.
• For biometric cards: copy both sides.
• Record the date of the check on the copy.

1. Retain copies for the duration of the tenancy plus 12 months.

B. Online check via share code (Home Office service)

Used when the tenant has a digital immigration status, eg:

• Biometric Residence Permit / Card.
• EU Settlement Scheme status.
• Some frontier worker permits etc.

Process:

• Tenant goes to gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent and generates a share code.
• You enter the code and their date of birth on the Home Office right to rent portal.
• The service shows:
• Their name and photo.
• Whether they have an unlimited or time-limited right to rent.
• The date until which your statutory excuse lasts (often 12 months for in-time applications).
• You must keep a copy/screenshot of the online result with the date accessed.

C. Digital identity verification (IDVT via IDSPs)

• UK/Irish citizens with valid passports can be checked using Identity Document Verification Technology via a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP).
• You must make sure the IDSP is certified and used in line with the Right to Rent code of practice; you still remain legally responsible for decision-making.

3. List A vs List B and follow-up checks

The current code of practice splits documents into List A (permanent) and List B (time-limited).

List A -- permanent right to rent (no follow-up)

If you see an acceptable List A document and check it correctly, you have a continuous statutory excuse for that occupier:

Examples:

• British or Irish passport (current or expired).
• Irish passport card.
• A document showing indefinite leave to remain / settled status (biometric card or online status).
• Certificate of naturalisation with matching passport.

You do not need follow-up checks for List A holders.

List B -- time-limited right to rent (follow-up needed)

List B is for people with a time-limited right -- visas, limited leave, pending applications:

Examples:

• Biometric Residence Permit with expiry date.
• Home Office "share code" results showing limited permission.
• Documentation of an in-time application or appeal.

Your statutory excuse lasts until the earlier of:

• The permission expiry date on the document / online check, or
• 12 months from the date of the check (for some application-based cases).

You must do a follow-up check before that date. If they no longer have the right to rent, you must not continue the tenancy (and may need to seek legal advice on termination under Immigration Act provisions).

4. When documents are missing: Landlord Checking Service and penalties

If a prospective tenant cannot show acceptable documents, but says the Home Office has their papers or there is an application pending:

Use the Home Office Landlord Checking Service (LCS)

• Submit details online.
• Home Office aim to reply within 2 working days.
• If they issue a Positive Verification Notice (PVN), you can let and will have a statutory excuse for 6 or 12 months (depending on case).
• No PVN or a negative outcome means no right to rent; you must not let to that person.

Civil penalties (rates from 13 February 2024, still current for 2025-26)

For tenants/occupiers (non-lodgers) where you did not do checks properly:

• First breach: up to GBP 10,000 per occupier.
• Repeat breach (within 3 years): up to GBP 20,000 per occupier.

For lodgers in your own home:

• First breach: up to GBP 5,000 per lodger.
• Repeat: up to GBP 10,000 per lodger.

There is also a criminal offence for knowingly letting to someone without a right to rent (unlimited fine and up to 5 years' imprisonment), introduced by the Immigration Act 2016.

Statutory excuse

If you can show you did a compliant check (manual/online/digital) and kept copies, you have a statutory excuse against a civil penalty even if the Home Office later say the person had no right to rent.

Record retention

Keep your Right to Rent check evidence for the whole tenancy plus 12 months after it ends.

Anti-discrimination

• You must check all adult occupiers in the same way, not just those who "look foreign".
• Follow the code of practice to avoid race discrimination; use the same process and language for everyone.

5. Common mistakes and forum myths

Mistakes

Not checking everyone aged 18+ Letting "kids" move in with parents without being checked. Once they turn 18 or if they were already 18 at move-in, they must have a Right to Rent check.

Doing checks after move-in The check must be before the tenancy starts; late checks give no statutory excuse for the already-granted tenancy.

No follow-up for time-limited rights Landlords treat all documents as if they are List A when many are List B. If you do not diarise follow-ups, your initial excuse expires and you are exposed.

Not keeping copies or dates Home Office will look for copies and evidence of the check date. "I saw a passport" with no record does not help you.

Letting via an agent with no clear allocation of responsibility If your management agreement does not clearly put Right to Rent on the agent and they mess up, you can still be on the hook.

Forum myths

"My tenants are all British so I do not need to check them." You must not assume; you still need a Right to Rent check and copies (eg British passport) to get the statutory excuse. Otherwise you rely on luck if there is a Home Office query.

"Once I have seen a passport, I do not need to copy it." The law requires you to retain evidence of the check. No copy means no proof, so no defence.

"Checks are the agent's problem, not mine." Only if your written agreement clearly gives them that responsibility. Even then, Home Office can look to you if the scheme is not followed.

"I can be flexible if I trust the tenant; penalties are tiny." Fines since 2024 are up to GBP 10,000-20,000 per person. A family of four without a right to rent can be a GBP 40,000 problem on a first breach.

A practical system is:

• Add a "Right to Rent" section to your pre-tenancy checklist.
• Use the same documented process for every adult.
• Scan documents, label them with name, property, and check date, and set calendar reminders for List B follow-ups.

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