Guidance on Right-to-rent Checks in South London

When landlords rent their property in England to tenants, they have a legal obligation to carry out right to rent checks. This is a process where the landlord performs a set of checks to ensure that their tenants have the right to live in rented accommodation in England.

A third of Southwark residents hold a nationality other than British or English according to the Census 2021 – but never make assumptions. It is important that landlords do not discriminate against people, which means all new tenants must be checked and not just the tenants who the landlord believes are not British citizens.

To ensure that you comply with the requirements and do not break any equality laws, read our guide on right to rent checks. Whether you are letting property in Surrey Quays, Canada Water, Central London or any other part of England, you will need to be up to speed with your obligations around the right to rent check.

What are ‘right to rent’ checks?

Right to rent checks involve checking identity documents to determine immigration status, and all landlords of property in England are required to carry out to ensure that tenants have the right to live in the UK.

These checks were introduced in England by the Home Office in February 2016 following on from the Immigration Act 2014 coming into force.

Who requires a right to rent check?

All tenants aged over 18 require a right to rent check, even if they are not included on the tenancy agreement. The checks must be completed before an adult tenant move into the property. It is unlawful to treat tenants differently based on nationality, race, religion, disability, sex or sexuality. Any right to rent check must comply with equality laws and certain groups cannot be discriminated against.

Guests who do not contribute towards the rent are not required to have their documents checked.

Who requires follow up right to rent checks?

If your tenant only had permission to stay in the UK for a limited time, you have to carry out follow up checks. You should do this prior to 12 months after the last check or your tenant’s permitted time in the country – whichever is later. Landlords have to inform the Home Office if they fail follow-up checks, or you could face a fine or prison sentence.

Who must carry out right to rent checks?

In the private rented sector, landlords are responsible for carrying out the checks on immigration status for tenants. Landlords can pass responsibility onto a letting agent, by appointing them to be responsible for the checks on their behalf. This should be done in writing, to ensure there is evidence of the transfer of responsibility.

What do right to rent checks include?

There are different types of accepted documents that require to be checked, depending on the nationality of the prospective tenant. There are also different methods that can be used for performing the document checks, for example, for UK and Irish citizens, a manual inspection of the passport, driving licence or UK birth certificate is required.

How to check right to rent – the process

If you choose to make the checks yourself, this is the process to follow:

1. Request documents – Request original documents from any adults who will be living in your rental property as their main home. The exact documents you require will depend on their nationality.
2. Confirm authenticity – Ensure that the evidence is genuine and all the information matches up. You cannot collect the documents and say the job is done – take the time to make sure the person in front of you is the one pictures on their photo ID, and that they seem to be the right age for the DOB given.
3. Check Right to rent – Check that your tenants have the right to rent according to the law and their documents. This could be given by their nationality, or they may have a visa that allows them to stay permanently or for a limited time.
4. Ensure record-keeping – Make a copy of documents and record the date. Keep these for your records, in line with data protection laws, in case you need to prove that you have carried out the checks correctly at a later date.

How to check the evidence for right to rent

You will have to check certain evidence of permission to live in the UK, and it differs according to your prospective tenant’s nationality.

British and Irish Citizens

You should check their UK or Ireland passport, Irish passport card, or certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen. Both valid passports and expired passports are acceptable. You can check the documents yourself, or you can use an online identity service provider (IDSP) to perform the checks.

For tenants who are not British or Irish, you are required to check their original immigration documents or their share code. Since 1 July 2021, this requirement has included checks for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals.

You must check that the documents belong to the tenant by comparing the photo to the tenant, the date or birth, any damage, and if there are any different names on documents provided, there should be supporting documents such as a marriage certificate to evidence the name change.

Other Residents

A Biometric Residence Permit will not be accepted, and if your tenants have settled or pre-settled status, they must give you a share code. This can be used to check the tenant’s right to rent, provided that they have a biometric residence card or permit, have settled or pre-settled status and applied for a visa using the UK Immigration: ID Check app.

If your potential tenants cannot supply the documents required or a valid share code, you should use the Home Office right to rent landlord checking service. Landlords will receive a response from the checking service in 2 working days.

What are the different right to rent permissions?

A prospective tenant will either have unlimited right to rent, a time-limited right to rent or no right to rent. Checking the immigration status of tenants before they move in will determine which permission they have.

Irish and British citizens have unlimited right to rent, while some people have limited right to rent, for example, they are in the UK to study or are on a work visa issued for a limited period of time.

If the tenant only has permission to stay in the UK for a limited time period, the landlord is required to complete the right to rent check in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy and no sooner.

Consequences for renting illegally

Failure to comply with the right to rent requirements can lead to serious consequences, including large fines and in some cases, imprisonment. If you are uncertain how to correctly do right to rent checks, it is important to use the available online check tools or to appoint a letting agent who can perform them on your behalf.

Understand right to rent checks better?

At Oliver Jaques, we have an experienced team of letting agents who are adept in carrying out right to rent checks, acquiring the right landlord certificates, and observing the legal requirements for compliance. Contact us today to find out more about our letting services in Bermondsey and Southwark.