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 every adult occupier's right to rent 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 dated copies for at least 12 months after the tenancy ends.

Introduction

The Immigration Act 2014 requires English private landlords to check every adult occupier's right to rent before move-in. Civil penalties run up to £20,000 per breach, with criminal liability for repeat or knowingly-let cases. 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 — student accommodation provided by the institution, refuges, hostels and care homes. 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 Don't accept paper documents from foreign nationals — most are no longer valid for RtR.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 — If the occupier has a time-limited right (e.g. visa expiring), set a calendar reminder for the earlier of the visa expiry or 12 months. Re-check before expiry and report any failed re-check to the Home Office within 28 days.

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.
• 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: - 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