What is a right to rent check?

A right to rent check is the immigration check that a landlord or letting agent in England must make on adult tenants before a tenancy starts. It confirms the person may live in the UK. Tenants prove it with original documents or an online share code, and landlords who rent to someone without the right can be fined.

How a right to rent check works

A landlord must check that a tenant or lodger can legally rent their residential property in England. Before a new tenancy starts, the landlord must check all tenants aged 18 and over, even if they are not named on the tenancy agreement, there is no agreement, or the agreement is not in writing.^{[1]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: Who you have to check}

The check must be made on all new tenants. GOV.UK says it is against the law to check only people you think are not British citizens, and landlords must not discriminate against anyone because of where they are from.^{[1]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: Who you have to check}

If the tenant is only allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time, the check must be done in the 28 days before the tenancy starts.^{[1]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: Who you have to check} A check on someone with an unlimited right to rent may be done at any time before the agreement is entered into.^{[5]UK Visas and Immigration and Home Office, Landlord's guide to right to rent checks: 1 October 2026}

The scheme applies in England only. You do not need to prove your right to rent in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Prove your right to rent in England}

Three ways to do the check

A landlord can do one of the following:^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check}

A British or Irish citizen can usually use a British passport (current or expired), an Irish passport or passport card (current or expired), or a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check}

A tenant who is not a British or Irish citizen can prove their right to rent with a share code or their original immigration documents. They can choose which, and a landlord cannot reject an eligible immigration document because it was not a share code.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Prove your right to rent in England} See share code and eVisa.

Landlords cannot accept biometric residence cards or permits. A tenant who has one is asked for a share code instead.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check} People with the right of abode can use a certificate of entitlement, shown as a vignette in a passport or a digital certificate that gives a share code.^{[4]UK Visas and Immigration, Prove your right to rent in England}

What the landlord must check and keep

The landlord checks that the documents are originals and belong to the tenant, the photos match, the dates of birth are the same and believable, the documents are not too damaged or changed, and any name differences are explained by a document such as a marriage certificate. For a tenant who is not a British or Irish citizen, the landlord also checks that their permission to stay has not ended.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check}

For an online check, the landlord saves a record by printing the profile page or saving it as a file, records the date of the check, and keeps this for the length of the tenancy and one year after.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check}

If a tenant has no right documents or valid share code, the landlord must use the landlord checking service. It can tell the landlord if the tenant still has the right to rent, for example if the Home Office has their documents or they have an outstanding case or appeal. GOV.UK says the landlord gets an answer within 2 working days. A landlord should not rent to someone in England if they have no documents or share code and the Home Office check says they are not allowed to rent.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check}

Follow-up checks and penalties

If a tenant’s permission to stay has a time limit, the landlord must do a follow-up check just before the later of the end of that permission or 12 months after the previous check. There is no follow-up check if there is no time limit.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: Follow-up checks}

A landlord who finds a tenant can no longer legally rent after a follow-up check must tell the Home Office. They could be fined or sent to prison for up to 5 years if they do not.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: Follow-up checks} A landlord who rents to someone without the right to rent in England can be fined up to £20,000 for each tenant or be sent to prison.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check}

If a landlord carries out the checks correctly and keeps the records, they have a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if an occupier is later found not to have the right to rent.^{[5]UK Visas and Immigration and Home Office, Landlord's guide to right to rent checks: 1 October 2026}

Tenants with an application pending

The Home Office landlord guide says that where a person makes an in-time application to extend their permission, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 may extend their existing permission and associated rights while the application and any appeal or administrative review is decided. If the occupier holds an eVisa, the landlord asks for a share code and uses the online service. If the service cannot confirm, the landlord uses the Landlord Checking Service, and a Positive Right to Rent Notice from it gives a statutory excuse for 12 months.^{[5]UK Visas and Immigration and Home Office, Landlord's guide to right to rent checks: 1 October 2026} See section 3C leave.

Example

Sarah is a landlord in Leeds with a new tenant, Chen, who has an eVisa. She asks him for a share code, enters it on the Home Office service and sees his profile. She saves it, notes the date and keeps it for the tenancy and one year after.

Chen’s permission ends in 18 months. Sarah must do a follow-up check just before the later of that date or 12 months after her first check. She does not need to do one if his permission has no time limit.

What people get wrong

A common assumption is that a landlord can check only the people they think are not British citizens. GOV.UK says that is against the law. Every new adult tenant must be checked, and landlords must not discriminate.

A second mistake is accepting a biometric residence permit as it is. GOV.UK says landlords cannot accept biometric residence cards or permits and should ask for a share code.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: How to do a check} A third is forgetting the follow-up check when the permission is time-limited, which can mean a fine.^{[3]UK Visas and Immigration, Checking your tenant's right to rent: Follow-up checks}

The bottom line

A right to rent check is a landlord’s legal duty in England to confirm each adult tenant’s immigration status before the tenancy starts. Tenants prove it with documents or a share code. Time-limited permission needs follow-up checks, and getting it wrong can mean a fine of up to £20,000 per tenant. A tenant who is not a British or Irish citizen can get a share code online.