How to Do a Right to Rent Check in England

Step-by-step Right to Rent check for English landlords — manual check, Identity Service Provider, or Home Office Online Service. Avoid £20,000 civil penalties.

Summary

Every adult occupier needs a Right to Rent check before the tenancy starts. Use a certified IDSP for British/Irish nationals, the Home Office Online Service for foreign nationals with a share code, or a manual check for non-digital documents.

Quick answer

Check the right to rent of every adult occupier not covered by an exemption before the tenancy starts. British/Irish nationals can use a certified IDSP or manual document check; foreign nationals with a share code use the Home Office Online Service. Keep a clear copy of the check securely for the duration of the tenancy and for one year after the tenancy ends, then securely destroy it.

Introduction

The Immigration Act 2014 requires English private landlords to check the right to rent of every adult occupier not covered by an exemption before move-in. Civil penalties run up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier for a first breach, rising to £10,000 and £20,000 for repeat breaches. A criminal offence may be committed if a landlord rents to someone they knew or had reasonable cause to believe did not have the right to rent. Here's the correct 2026 process.

Steps

1. Confirm the property is in scope — Right to Rent applies to private residential lets in England (not Scotland, Wales or NI). Some accommodation is exempt — social housing, care homes, hospices and hospitals, hostels and refuges, mobile homes, student accommodation, accommodation provided by a local authority, accommodation tied to a job, and leases of 7 years or more (see GOV.UK). Otherwise: every adult occupier needs a check.

2. Choose the right method based on nationality — British or Irish citizens: use a Home Office certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP) for digital verification, or do a manual document check. Foreign nationals with eVisa/BRP: use the Home Office Online Service with a share code. Don't accept paper documents from foreign nationals — most are no longer valid for RtR.

3. Make the check before tenancy start — The check must be completed before the tenancy starts (or before the occupant takes occupation). Doing it after move-in does not protect you against penalty.

4. Take and date-stamp a clear copy of evidence — Keep: a clear scan of any ID documents (or the IDSP digital identity document report), the date of the check, who performed the check, and a screenshot of the Home Office Online Service result. Store for the duration of the tenancy plus 1 year.

5. Set a follow-up date for time-limited rights — Set the follow-up before the time-limited statutory excuse expires. Under the code in force from 1 October 2026, that is the latest of 12 months after the check, the expiry of the person's permission, or the expiry of the document evidencing their right to rent. If the follow-up does not establish a continuing right to rent, make a report to the Home Office to maintain the statutory excuse.

Common pitfalls

Accepting an EU national's national ID card — these stopped being acceptable for RtR after the EU Settlement Scheme deadline.
Only checking the lead tenant — every adult occupier needs a check unless the letting is exempt.
Forgetting to re-check time-limited rights before expiry.
Discriminating by only checking foreign-sounding names — this breaches the Equality Act 2010 and the Home Office Code of Practice.

FAQ

Does Right to Rent apply in Scotland or Wales? No. Right to Rent only applies to England. Scottish PRT, Welsh occupation contracts and Northern Ireland tenancies are not in scope.

Can my letting agent do the check on my behalf? Yes — if there is a written agreement transferring liability. Without that agreement, the landlord retains the civil penalty exposure.

What's the penalty for getting it wrong? Civil penalties up to £20,000 per occupier for repeat breaches (lower for first offences). Knowingly letting to a person without right to rent is a criminal offence — up to 5 years' imprisonment.

References: - Home Office code of practice (in force from 1 October 2026) — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-rent-landlords-code-of-practice/code-of-practice-for-landlords-and-their-agents-the-right-to-rent-scheme-for-landlords-and-their-agents-1-october-2026 - GOV.UK — Landlord's guide to Right to Rent — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-rent-document-checks-a-user-guide - GOV.UK — Check a tenant's right to rent online — https://www.gov.uk/landlord-immigration-check - GOV.UK — Penalties for illegal renting — https://www.gov.uk/penalties-illegal-renting