Right to Rent Checks for Landlords
As of February 1st 2016, the law requires everyone renting out property in England to check whether their tenants are legally allowed to live in the UK.
This applies to landlords and also anyone renting out a room to a lodger. It's just for new tenancies – existing tenants and lodgers don't need to be checked.
The law applies to all types of agreement, whether they're written or verbal. Not having a tenancy agreement doesn't exempt you from having to check.
Here's what you need to know. You must check all prospective adult tenants before the start date of a tenancy agreement:
- Which adults (over 18) will live at your property as their only, or main, home. It doesn't matter if they're named in the tenancy agreement or not.
- Original copies of the documents that allow them to live in the UK.
- That the documents are genuine and belong to the tenant. The tenant has to be present for this.
- Make and keep copies of the documents and record the date you made the check. You can be fined up to £3,000 for renting your property to someone who isn't allowed to rent in England. From early 2024 the government have announced that fines for a first breach will increase to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier. For repeat breaches fines will be up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier.
Government legislation and guidance has changed several times since it was first introduced, including specific changes brought in to help during COVID-19. Visit the Government's Right to Rent pages for the most up to date guidance.
There's a Home Office guide to checking documents on the gov.uk website, plus:
- Full details of how to check
- What to do if your tenant doesn't have the right to live in the UK
- Penalties for renting illegally
- A simple tool to help you through the process.
If you require help with Right to Rent checks, SpareRoom recommends Vorensys who offer class leading tenant screening services direct to letting agents and landlords. Their comprehensive checks include a credit check, income verification and a previous landlord reference. They're also able to assist with your right to rent checks and use anti-fraud technologies to identify false referees.