Right to Rent checks in 2026

A right to rent check is the Home Office immigration check you must carry out on every adult who will live in your rented property in England as their only or main home, before the tenancy starts. It applies whether or not they are named on the tenancy and whatever their nationality. New codes of practice took effect on 1 October 2026, changing how digital checks work.

Right to Rent is one of the duties on our landlord compliance checklist. It is set out in the Immigration Act 2014 and applies in England only.

Who needs a right to rent check?

Every adult aged 18 or over who will occupy the property as their only or main home. That includes:

• tenants named on the tenancy;
• adults living there who are not named, such as a partner or adult child;
• British and Irish citizens as well as everyone else.

Some types of accommodation are exempt, including social housing, care homes, hostels and refuges, student halls of residence, tied accommodation and leases of 7 years or more. GOV.UK lists the others.

The three ways to do a right to rent check

Method	How it works	Points to watch
Manual check	You check documents from the lists in Annex A of the code of practice	Keep copies; documents must be on the lists. Costs nothing but your time
Home Office online check	The occupier gives you a share code and their date of birth, and you view their status online	Required for people who hold only an eVisa
Digital identity check	A digital verification service provider checks the identity document for you	Since 1 October 2026 the provider must be a registered Right to Rent provider on the government register; an unregistered provider gives you no defence

A correctly done check gives you a "statutory excuse": a defence against a civil penalty if the person later turns out not to have the right to rent.

Share codes, eVisas and BRPs in 2026

Immigration documents have changed since 2024. The points that matter now:

• BRPs stopped being issued on 31 October 2024, and an expired BRP is not acceptable.
• People who hold only an eVisa must prove their right to rent through the Home Office online service, using a right to rent share code.
• Visa vignettes (the stickers in passports) stopped being issued from 1 July 2026. An existing short-validity vignette can still be used for a manual check while it is valid.
• The Ukraine annex was removed from the guidance in October 2026.

Watch out: If a digital provider offers to accept an expired British or Irish passport, check the current code of practice before you rely on it.

When to check, and follow-up checks

Timing depends on the kind of right the person has:

• Unlimited right to rent: you can check at any time before the tenancy.
• Time-limited right to rent: check no earlier than 28 days before the tenancy agreement is entered into.

For example, if you will sign the tenancy agreement on Tuesday 1 December 2026 with someone whose permission is time-limited, do the check on or after Tuesday 3 November 2026.

For a time-limited right, you must make a follow-up check before your statutory excuse runs out. How long it lasts depends on the check:

Type of check	Statutory excuse lasts until
Manual check of a List B document	The longest of: 1 year from the check, the end of the person's permission, or the end of the document's validity
Home Office online check	The date the online service gives you

If the follow-up check shows the person no longer has the right to rent, report it to the Home Office to keep your excuse.

Records

Keep copies of the checks securely for the length of the tenancy plus at least 1 year, then securely destroy the online-check records.

Penalties, and does Right to Rent affect possession?

Civil penalties are charged per disqualified person. A repeat breach is one within 3 years of a previous one.

Who lives there	First breach	Repeat breach
A lodger	£5,000	£10,000
An occupier (tenant)	£10,000	£20,000

A first-breach penalty is reduced by 30% if paid within 21 days. A landlord who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that they are letting to someone without the right to rent can also commit a criminal offence, with up to 5 years' imprisonment and/or a fine.

Checks are not a condition of getting possession. If the Home Office notifies you in writing that a tenant is disqualified, Ground 7B lets you seek possession on 2 weeks' notice. Read how to evict a tenant with no right to rent for the process.

Apply the same checks to every applicant. Separately, the discrimination ban stops you turning people away because they have children or claim benefits.

Right to rent checklist

• List every adult who will live in the property, named or not.
• Choose a method: manual, online share code, or a registered digital provider.
• For time-limited rights, check within the 28 days before the agreement.
• Keep copies securely, with the date of each check.
• Note the date each statutory excuse ends, and book the follow-up check.
• Report a failed follow-up check to the Home Office.
• Keep records for the tenancy plus at least 1 year, then securely destroy the online-check records.

What to do next

Add each follow-up check date to ValidNotice's free compliance reminders, so a time-limited statutory excuse never lapses without you noticing. Then make sure your written statement of terms is ready before the tenancy is agreed.