Right to Rent checks: a UK landlord guide (2026)
21 August 2026 · AgentCheck Editorial · 6 min read
Part of our UK Landlord Legal Guide
In short: If you let a home in England, you must confirm every adult occupier has the right to rent before they move in. You can check documents manually, use the Home Office online service with a tenant share code, or use a certified digital identity provider. Get it wrong and the fines run into thousands of pounds per person, so treat the check as a fixed step in every let, not an afterthought.
Right to Rent has been part of letting in England since 2016, but the mechanics have moved on. The rules sit alongside the wider changes brought in by the Renters' Rights Act, and there is a further shift to digital identity checking arriving in October 2026. This guide walks through what you actually have to do in 2026, who you check, and how to keep yourself out of trouble.
One thing to clear up first. Right to Rent applies in England only. If your property is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, these particular rules do not apply to you, though you will have other local obligations to meet.
Who you need to check
You check every adult who will live in the property as their only or main home. That means everyone aged 18 or over, whether or not they are named on the tenancy agreement and whether or not they pay any rent. A partner who moves in, a friend sharing the rent, an adult child staying long term: all of them count.
The check has to happen before the tenancy begins. You cannot hand over the keys and sort the paperwork later. If you use a letting agent, you can pass this responsibility to them in writing, and in practice most managed lets do exactly that.
The three ways to run a check
1. Manual document check
For some people, usually British and Irish citizens, you check original documents in person. A passport is the simplest example. You need to see the original, confirm it looks genuine and belongs to the person in front of you, then keep a clear copy with the date you checked it. A British passport gives someone a continuous right to rent, so you do not need to repeat that check later.
2. Home Office online check with a share code
Most people who are not British or Irish now prove their status digitally. The tenant generates a share code from their UKVI account and gives it to you along with their date of birth. A Right to Rent share code starts with the letter "R". You enter both on the Home Office "View a tenant's right to rent" service, and it returns a result you can save as a PDF. This is the route for anyone with an eVisa, a biometric residence permit or settled and pre-settled status.
3. Digital identity checks from 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026, if you want to verify a British or Irish citizen's identity digitally rather than eyeballing their passport, you have to use a certified provider. That provider must be registered on the government's Office for Digital Identities and Attributes list and be approved to carry out Right to Rent checks. Using a random ID app that is not on the register will not give you a valid check or the legal protection that comes with it. If you prefer, you can still do the manual document check the old way.
Time-limited checks and follow-ups
Some people have a right to rent that runs out on a set date, for example someone here on a visa. In those cases your check is time-limited and you need to do a follow-up check when their permission is due to expire. If they still have the right to rent, you record the fresh check and carry on. If they no longer do, you have a duty to report it to the Home Office. Do that and you keep your statutory excuse against a penalty.
What happens if you get it wrong
The civil penalties were increased in 2024 and remain steep. For a first breach you can be fined up to £5,000 for each lodger and up to £10,000 for each occupier. For a repeat breach within three years those figures double to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier. On top of that, a landlord who knew, or had reasonable cause to believe, that someone had no right to rent can face a criminal charge carrying up to five years in prison.
The point of doing the check properly is the "statutory excuse". If you carried out a correct check and kept the evidence, you are protected from the civil penalty even if it later turns out the documents were sophisticated fakes. Skip the check and that protection disappears.
Do not overcorrect into discrimination
There is a trap here. Nervous landlords sometimes decide it is safer to only rent to people with British passports, or to treat anyone with an accent as a risk. That is unlawful discrimination, and the government publishes a code of practice specifically to warn against it. The correct approach is to check everyone in the same way, using the same steps, regardless of where you assume they are from.
Keep your records
Hold on to your evidence for the length of the tenancy and for at least a further 12 months after it ends. Save the PDF from any online check, keep dated copies of any manual documents, and note the date each check was carried out. A simple dated file per tenancy is enough. If a question ever comes up, that folder is what stands between you and a penalty.
Right to Rent is not the hardest part of being a landlord, but it is one of the easiest to get wrong through simple carelessness. Build it into your process, apply it to everyone, and keep the paperwork. If you would rather not manage it yourself, a good letting agent will handle checks as standard. You can compare local letting agents on AgentCheck to find one that does. For the wider picture on the current rules, our Renters' Rights Act landlord guide covers what else has changed.
Compare letting agents who handle compliance for you
Right to Rent, deposits, notices and safety certificates all have to line up on every let. If you would rather have a professional carry the risk, use AgentCheck to compare letting agents in your area and see who offers fully managed compliance.
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