Right to Rent Checks after 30 September 2022

All landlords (or their letting agents if they have agreed to take on this responsibility) must ensure that tenants and other occupiers in their rented property have a right to rent in the UK.

This only applies in England as the right to rent rules have not been introduced in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

In the past, checking the right to rent was done by checking documentation face to face with tenants (or rather applicants for tenancies – as you should not grant a tenancy until you are sure that they are eligible).  And this is still one of your options.

However, a new ‘adjusted process’ was introduced during the pandemic to allow checks to be done remotely.

At the time of writing, these rules can be seen here.  However, this temporary process is due to end on 30 September 2022.  So this article will give a quick rundown of the options available to you after that date.

View the government  online guidance always

Note that our policy on Landlord Law has always been to refer you to the correct government guidance page rather than provide specific guidance here.

The reason for this is that rules and procedures change, but these blog posts remain online indefinitely, meaning that if you read them a long time after they were written, specific guidance could be misleading.

However, the government site information is regularly updated, and so is the proper place for you to go for reliable information.

So what are the various ways you can deal with right to rent checks after 30 September?

Using your letting agent

Many letting agents will deal with right-to-rent checks on behalf of landlords.  Be aware, though, that landlords will still remain liable unless there is a written agreement.  This written agreement should make it clear that

• the agent is to be responsible for the initial right to rent check and whether or not the agent will be responsible for any follow-up checks for those with a time-limited right to rent
• the agent must conduct the checks within the timescales laid out in the guidance and the code of practice on right to rent: civil penalty scheme for landlords and their agents
• liability for civil penalties transfers to the agent, but liability cannot be transferred beyond the agent

Once the written agreement has been made the agents takes over responsibility for this work.  (Find out more in this guide here).

Digital Identity Service Providers (IDSPs)

These are companies which are authorised by the government to provide identity checks.  The government recommends their use as they will  ‘help to support long-term post-pandemic working practices’, and they

can reduce risk by … renting in a safer way as they are able to assure .. tenants’ identities and eligibility using consistent and more secure methods. .. landlords will retain obligations that they must comply with under the Schemes, including to satisfy themselves that the IDSP has carried out an identity check on the … tenant, and to retain copies of the check.

(I have removed references in the quote to employers who can also use these services).

You will find a list of all the current authorised IDSPs here.

The list provides names, addresses and an email address, but you can normally view the company website by using the last part of the email address after the @.

These services are not free, but it may be worth using them to offload the hassle of carrying out these checks onto someone else.

Note that if you use a paid service, the Tenant Fees legislation forbids passing this cost onto the applicants as a fee.  You should treat it as a business expense which is just part of being a landlord.

The Home Office Right to Rent Service

This can be used where the applicant

• has a biometric residence card or permit
• has settled or pre-settled status
• applied for a visa and used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan their identity document on their phone

The applicant will need to provide you with their date of birth and a ‘share code’ (which they can apply for online here) and you can then carry out the online check from this page.

If documents are held by the Home Office

Or if there is an application or appeal outstanding, you can request a Home Office right to rent check from this page.

The applicant will need to provide you with a Home Office reference number to do the check

Manually checking documents

You can always carry out the checks yourself by viewing the documents provided by applicants in a face-to-face meeting.

There is government guidance on the documentation, which includes images here.  However, before doing anything, you should read the very detailed landlord’s guide to right-to-rent checks here.

You can then use the step-by-step guide which starts here.

Where tenants lose their right to rent

You don’t need to evict them (at least not unless the Home Office tell you to).  All you need to do is make a report to the Home Office using the form here.

If the Home Office decide to take action, that is up to them.  You will have done all that you need to do (although keep a record of the report and the date it was submitted just in case).

If the Home Office decide that the tenant or occupier should be evicted, they will notify you in due course.

Home Office support

As I said above, you should always use the Home Office information to guide you and this is always available online.

You will find a useful collection of links on this page.  The most detailed guide can be found here.

There is also a Landlords’ Helpline on 0300 790 6268.

Landlord Law members will find some checklists then can use here.