Right to Rent Checks UK 2026 — Complete Landlord Guide to Documents, Online Service, and the Penalty Regime

Who must check and who must be checked — scope of the obligation

Before walking through the check process, it is essential to understand who is legally required to conduct Right to Rent checks and who must be checked:

• Who must conduct the check — landlord obligation: The obligation to conduct Right to Rent checks falls on the landlord (the person who has granted or is about to grant the tenancy or licence). The obligation cannot be avoided by using a letting agent — however, a landlord can contractually agree with a letting agent that the agent will conduct the checks on the landlord's behalf (see agent responsibility below). Where the agent agrees in writing to conduct the checks, the statutory excuse runs to the landlord if the agent conducts a compliant check, even if the landlord does not personally verify the documents
• Who must be checked: All adults aged 18 and over who will occupy the property as their only or main home must be checked — regardless of whether they are named on the tenancy agreement. This includes: all named tenants; adult family members of tenants who will live at the property; adult lodgers; adult children of tenants who will reside at the property. Persons under 18 do not need to be checked. The check must be conducted before occupation commences
• Properties and tenancies not covered: The Right to Rent scheme applies only in England. It does not apply in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Additionally, some accommodation types are excluded: social housing (local authority and registered social landlords); student accommodation provided by educational institutions; care homes and hospitals; hospices and refuges; accommodation tied to employment. Non-residential commercial tenancies are not subject to Right to Rent checks
• Letting agent responsibility: A letting agent conducting Right to Rent checks on the landlord's behalf must follow the same process as the landlord would. Where a written agreement exists between landlord and agent that the agent will conduct checks, the statutory excuse runs to the landlord (not the agent) if the agent conducts a compliant check. Where an agent negligently conducts a non-compliant check, the landlord may have a contractual claim against the agent but remains civilly liable for the civil penalty if the check is not compliant

Acceptable documents — List A (unlimited right to rent) and List B (time-limited)

The Home Office publishes lists of acceptable documents for Right to Rent checks. List A documents establish an unlimited right to rent; List B documents establish a time-limited right to rent (requiring repeat checks):

• List A — unlimited right to rent (UK and EEA nationals, settled status, indefinite leave): Key List A documents include: (a) a valid British passport (or expired passport if accompanied by a birth/adoption certificate and proof of national insurance number); (b) a UK passport endorsed with indefinite leave to remain; (c) a European Economic Area (EEA) country passport or national identity card with evidence of Settled Status (EUSS) — the document itself is insufficient without online verification of settled status via the share code system; (d) a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen; (e) a UK birth or adoption certificate combined with a document showing the person's National Insurance number. A landlord who accepts a List A document and conducts a compliant check has a permanent statutory excuse — they do not need to repeat the check
• List B — time-limited right to rent (requires repeat check): Key List B documents include: (a) a valid passport or travel document showing leave to enter or remain in the UK that is still within the validity of that leave; (b) a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card showing leave granted for a period — note: from 31 December 2025, BRP cards cannot be used as standalone evidence; they must be verified via the online share code system; (c) a digital immigration status document (eVisa/UKVI account) verified via the share code system; (d) positive verification from the online Home Office checking service. A landlord who accepts a List B document has a time-limited statutory excuse — they must repeat the check when the time-limited leave expires or within 12 months (whichever is later)
• The online Home Office checking service — when it must be used: From 6 April 2022, the Home Office has required that checks on the following categories of person are conducted via the online share code system (not paper documents alone): EEA nationals with pre-settled or settled status; persons with a BRP (from 31 December 2025 onward); persons with a UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) online account / eVisa. The tenant/occupier provides the landlord with a share code (generated via the GOV.UK 'View and prove your immigration status' service). The landlord then enters the share code and the person's date of birth into the Home Office online checking system to receive a right to rent check result
• Conducting the check — the three-step process: (1) Obtain original documents from the occupier (or their share code for online checks); (2) Check the documents are genuine, belong to the person presenting them, and have not expired (for online checks: verify via the GOV.UK checking system); (3) Make and retain a dated copy of the documents (or a printed/saved record of the online check result). The check must be conducted in the presence of the document-holder (for manual checks) or verified online before occupation commences

Repeat checks — when they are required for time-limited occupiers

Where an occupier's right to rent is time-limited (established by a List B document or a time-limited online check result), the landlord must conduct a repeat check before the earlier of: (a) the expiry of the time-limited leave, or (b) 12 months after the previous check:

• Timing of repeat check: The repeat check must be conducted before the occupier's leave expires or 12 months from the date of the original check — whichever is sooner. It is good practice to diarise the check date and the leave expiry date at the time of the original check. A landlord who fails to conduct a timely repeat check loses the statutory excuse
• What to do when an occupier's leave has expired: Where a repeat check reveals that an occupier's leave has expired and they have not obtained an extension or variation of leave, the landlord must report this to the Home Office within a prescribed period. Failure to report a disqualified occupier while continuing to allow them to occupy can expose the landlord to criminal liability. The Home Office publishes guidance on how to make a report and the protections available to landlords who comply
• Documenting the repeat check: The repeat check must be documented in the same way as the original check — retain a dated copy of the documents or a printed/saved record of the online check result. Record the date of the repeat check and the date of the next required repeat check (if the leave is again time-limited). Good record-keeping is essential: the civil penalty defence depends on being able to demonstrate that a compliant check was conducted on a specific date

The penalty regime — civil penalties, criminal offences, and the statutory excuse

The Right to Rent civil penalty regime is administered by the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement). Civil penalties can be significant for non-compliance:

• Civil penalty — first offence: Where a landlord lets to a person with no right to rent (or fails to conduct a compliant check and the occupier has no right to rent), the civil penalty for a first offence is up to £20,000 per occupier who is a disqualified person. The penalty is lower (up to £5,000) where the occupier had a time-limited right to rent that the landlord failed to recheck. Civil penalties are issued by the Home Office following an investigation. Landlords have a right of objection and appeal
• Civil penalty — repeat offences: Where a landlord has previously been issued with a civil penalty warning notice (short of a penalty) and commits a further breach, or has received a previous civil penalty and commits a further breach within 3 years, the maximum penalty per disqualified occupier increases to £20,000 (if it was previously lower). Repeat non-compliance is treated significantly more seriously
• Criminal offence — knowing or reasonable cause to believe: The Immigration Act 2014 (as amended by the Immigration Act 2016) creates a criminal offence where a landlord (or letting agent) knows or has reasonable cause to believe that an occupier is disqualified from renting and continues to let to them. The criminal offence carries a maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Unlike the civil penalty (which is based purely on outcome), the criminal offence requires proof of knowledge or reasonable cause to believe — it targets deliberate exploitation of irregular migrants
• The statutory excuse — how to avoid civil penalty liability: A landlord who conducts a compliant Right to Rent check before occupation commences, and retains the documentation, has a statutory excuse against civil penalty liability — even if it subsequently emerges that the occupier provided fraudulent documents or had no right to rent. The statutory excuse is the principal reason why conducting and documenting checks correctly is so important: it provides a complete defence. The excuse is lost if: the check was not conducted before occupation; the check was conducted after the occupier moved in; the documents were not checked adequately; or the landlord had actual knowledge that the occupier was disqualified
• GDPR and document retention: Copies of Right to Rent documents and online check records are personal data and must be handled in compliance with the UK GDPR (UK General Data Protection Regulation). Documents should be retained for at least 12 months after the occupier vacates the property (to evidence the statutory excuse if a penalty notice is subsequently issued) but should not be retained for longer than necessary. A data retention policy for Right to Rent records should be included in the landlord's GDPR compliance documentation

Frequently asked questions