Right to Rent Checks: The Immigration Act 2014 Landlord's Guide

Right to rent is a duty on every private landlord letting property in England: before granting a tenancy, you must check that every adult occupier has the legal right to live in the UK. It comes from the Immigration Act 2014 (extended by the Immigration Act 2016) and applies whether or not the occupier is named on the agreement. Get the check right and you have a "statutory excuse" that protects you even if the occupier's status later turns out to be false. Get it wrong — or skip it — and you face a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per occupier and, in serious cases, criminal prosecution. This guide covers who must be checked, which documents count, how digital and in-person checks work under the code of practice currently in force (and the updated code taking effect from 1 October 2026), re-checks, penalties, exemptions, and the discrimination risk landlords must manage.

Key takeaways

• Right to rent applies only in England — not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
• Every adult occupier must be checked before the tenancy starts, whether or not they are named on the agreement.
• A correctly completed check gives the landlord a statutory excuse — protection from penalty even if the occupier's status turns out to be false.
• Civil penalties (in force since 13 February 2024): up to £5,000 per lodger / £10,000 per occupier for a first breach, rising to £10,000 per lodger / £20,000 per occupier for a repeat breach.
• Biometric Residence Permits, Biometric Residence Cards and Frontier Worker Permits can no longer be accepted as physical documents — holders must be checked through the Home Office online service.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 did not change the right to rent regime — it remains a separate pre-tenancy duty under the Immigration Acts.
• A landlord who applies the checks unevenly, or refuses applicants without a British passport, risks unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Why right to rent matters

The Immigration Act 2014 introduced the right to rent scheme to stop people without lawful immigration status accessing private rented housing. It was rolled out in the West Midlands from December 2014 and extended across all of England from 1 February 2016. The Immigration Act 2016 then added criminal sanctions on top of the original civil penalty regime, in force from 1 December 2016.

Right to rent is conceptually simple — confirm that every adult who will live in the property has the right to do so — but procedurally exacting. The check must happen before the tenancy starts, must use a prescribed method, must be repeated for occupiers with time-limited status, and must be documented so it stands up if the Home Office investigates.

A landlord who carries out the prescribed check correctly establishes a statutory excuse under section 24 of the Immigration Act 2014 (section 26 for agents who have taken on the duty in writing). The statutory excuse is the landlord's protection: it applies even if the occupier is later found to have had no right to rent, provided the check itself was done correctly and on time. A landlord who has not carried out the check, or carried it out incorrectly, has no protection — regardless of what the occupier turns out to have done.

Who must be checked, and where the scheme applies

The scheme applies to every residential tenancy agreement (written or oral — including leases, licences, subleases and sub-tenancies) that lets a property in England for use as someone's only or main home, in return for rent. It applies to:

• Every named tenant on the agreement.
• Every adult occupier who will live in the property, even if not named on the agreement — partners, adult household members, sub-tenants.
• Lodgers taken in by a resident landlord sharing their own home.
• Tenancies that are varied, assigned, or renewed as a new agreement (a new right to rent check is triggered whenever a new adult gains the right to occupy).

Occupiers under 18 at the start of the tenancy do not need to be checked, but record their date of birth so a check can be scheduled once they turn 18.

Right to rent does not apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland — those administrations have not adopted the scheme, and GOV.UK confirms tenants do not need to prove right to rent there.

Exempt tenancies and property types

The Home Office code of practice excludes certain letting arrangements from the scheme entirely:

• Accommodation arranged by local authorities.
• Social housing.
• Care homes, hospitals, hospices and continuing healthcare provision.
• Hostels and refuges.
• Mobile homes.
• Tied accommodation.
• Student accommodation arranged through an educational institution.
• Long leases.

Holiday accommodation is also outside the scheme where it is genuinely used for leisure, but the Home Office treats bookings of three months or more — or open-ended/repeatedly extended bookings — as a signal the occupier may be using the property as their only or main home, at which point a check becomes advisable. House guests who are not paying rent and do not treat the property as their main home are not "occupiers" for these purposes.

What documents are acceptable

Checks are made against two lists set out in the Home Office code of practice.

List A — continuous statutory excuse (no re-check needed)

One document from Group 1, or two documents from Group 2, establishes a continuous statutory excuse for the life of the tenancy.

Group 1 (any one document):

• A current or expired passport showing British citizenship or right of abode.
• A current or expired Irish passport or passport card.
• A passport/travel document endorsed to show indefinite leave, exemption from immigration control, or no time limit on stay.
• An immigration status document confirming indefinite leave to remain.
• A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

Group 2 (any two documents, combined): a UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Irish birth or adoption certificate; specified letters from a government department, employer, police force, HM Prison Service, probation service or an educational institution confirming identity; a full UK or Northern Ireland driving licence; a Disclosure and Barring Service certificate; documentary evidence of a specified benefit. The full Group 2 list is set out in the code of practice.

List B — time-limited statutory excuse (follow-up check required)

A single List B document (for example, a current passport or immigration status document endorsed with a time-limited right to stay, or specified EU Settlement Scheme evidence) gives a time-limited statutory excuse. The landlord must carry out a follow-up check before the "eligibility period" ends.

Documents you can no longer accept physically

Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs), Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and Frontier Worker Permits (FWPs) can only be used to evidence right to rent through the Home Office online checking service. Landlords cannot accept or examine the physical card as proof — this reflects the Home Office's move to digital, "eVisa" immigration status, which expanded from 2024. If a prospective occupier presents a physical BRP, direct them to generate an online share code instead.

How to carry out the check

1. In-person document check (List A/List B)

Examine original documents (not photocopies, scans or photos) in the physical presence of the occupier, checking:

• The documents appear genuine and any photograph matches the person in front of you.
• Expiry dates, and that the right to rent covers at least the start of the tenancy.
• Then copy each document (e.g. the photo page of a passport, both sides of a licence), and record the date of the check.

2. Online Home Office check (share code)

Available via Check a tenant's right to rent in England. The prospective occupier generates a share code through their UK Visas and Immigration account and gives it to you with their date of birth. You enter the code on GOV.UK, confirm the photograph matches the person in front of you (in person, by video call, or via facial recognition technology from a registered provider), and keep a copy of the response for the duration of the tenancy plus one year. This is mandatory for BRC/BRP/FWP holders and is the standard route for anyone with an eVisa.

3. Identity Service Provider (IDSP) digital checks — British/Irish passport holders

Since 6 April 2022, landlords can use an Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) check via a certified Identity Service Provider to verify British or Irish passport holders digitally, giving a continuous statutory excuse without seeing the physical passport. A list of certified providers is published on GOV.UK.

4. Digital Verification Service Providers (DVSPs) — from 1 October 2026

An updated code of practice, published 30 June 2026, comes into force on 1 October 2026. It formalises "RtR DVSPs" — registered digital identity providers (regulated under the framework introduced by the Data Use and Access Act 2025) who can digitally verify List A/List B documents and, where used, provide facial-recognition matching. Use of a DVSP will not be mandatory, but registered providers must be listed on the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes register. Landlords planning ahead should watch for the October 2026 update rather than relying solely on the February 2024 code once it takes effect.

The Home Office Landlord Checking Service (LCS)

Where an occupier cannot produce documents but has an ongoing application, an asylum claim, or documents held by the Home Office, contact the Landlord Checking Service. The LCS responds within two working days with a clear yes/no and, if positive, a Positive Right to Rent Notice. This is a distinct process from the online share-code check and is for landlords and agents only.

Re-checks and reporting duty

Where a List B document (or an LCS response) gives a time-limited statutory excuse, you must carry out a follow-up check before the eligibility period ends — broadly, the point at which the occupier's permission to be in the UK, or the validity of their document, expires.

If a follow-up check shows the occupier no longer has the right to rent:

• Report it to the Home Office using the online reporting service — this is what keeps your statutory excuse alive.
• Take reasonable steps to end the occupation within a reasonable time.

Continuing to let to someone you know, or have reasonable cause to believe, no longer has the right to rent — without reporting it — puts you at risk of both a civil penalty and a criminal offence, even though your original check was correctly carried out.

Penalties for non-compliance

Civil penalties increased substantially under the code of practice that took effect 13 February 2024, and this remains the position (unchanged in the updated code coming into force 1 October 2026):

Breach	Lodger	Occupier (full tenancy)
First breach	up to £5,000	up to £10,000
Repeat breach (within 3 years)	up to £10,000	up to £20,000

These figures replaced the previous maxima of £80/£500 per lodger and £1,000/£3,000 per occupier. The statutory maximum penalty under the Immigration Act 2014 was itself raised to £20,000 by the Immigration Act 2014 (Residential Accommodation) (Maximum Penalty) Order 2023.

Faster Payment Option (FPO): landlords liable for a first-breach penalty can get a 30% reduction — from £10,000 to £7,000 per occupier, or from £5,000 to £3,500 per lodger — by paying within 21 calendar days of the Civil Penalty Notice. The FPO is not available for repeat breaches or where instalment payment has been agreed.

Criminal offence: under the Immigration Act 2016, a landlord who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that an occupier is disqualified by their immigration status commits a criminal offence. On indictment this carries up to 5 years' imprisonment, a fine, or both; on summary conviction, up to 12 months, a fine, or both. It is a defence to have taken reasonable steps to end the occupation within a reasonable time of discovering the disqualification.

Penalties apply per occupier, not per property — a five-bedroom HMO let to five unchecked sharers exposes the landlord to civil penalty liability of up to £50,000 on a first breach. Beyond the penalty itself, a right to rent failure is commonly treated by local authorities as relevant to the Housing Act 2004 "fit and proper person" test for HMO and selective licensing, and can affect landlord insurance and future dealings with the Home Office.

Discrimination concerns — the JCWI litigation

The scheme has faced sustained legal challenge on discrimination grounds. In 2019 the High Court found, on evidence from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), that the scheme caused landlords to discriminate against prospective tenants without British passports on grounds of race and nationality. In April 2020 the Court of Appeal (R (JCWI) v SSHD [2020] EWCA Civ 542) overturned that finding — it agreed the scheme causes discriminatory effects, but held these were justified as a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of immigration control, given Parliament's latitude on social policy. JCWI's application for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court was refused in 2021.

The scheme therefore continues to operate lawfully, but the risk of discriminatory practice by individual landlords is real and is the reason a separate Home Office code of practice specifically addresses avoiding unlawful discrimination when conducting checks. In practice:

• Apply the same documentation requirements to every applicant, regardless of nationality, accent or appearance.
• Accept any of the prescribed routes — List A, List B, an LCS response, or a digital check — do not insist on a British passport when another route is available.
• Never refuse an applicant outright for lacking a British passport — this is a recognised discrimination risk under the Equality Act 2010, and those experiencing it can claim compensation through the civil courts.
• If in doubt, use the online service or the Landlord Checking Service rather than refusing the application without confirmation.

Right to rent and the Renters' Rights Act 2025

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (in force from 1 May 2026) abolished Section 21, converted assured shorthold tenancies to periodic assured tenancies, and rebuilt possession around an expanded set of Section 8 grounds. It did not amend the Immigration Act 2014 or 2016. Right to rent checks remain a separate, unchanged legal duty, carried out before the tenancy starts regardless of how the tenancy itself is now structured.

The two regimes may still intersect operationally. The Act introduces a national Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database, expected to begin regional rollout from late 2026, which is intended to record landlord and property compliance information including banning orders and relevant convictions — whether right to rent enforcement outcomes fall within its published scope is not yet confirmed in detail, so check GOV.UK's implementation guidance as the database goes live rather than assuming coverage. Separately, as noted above, right to rent breaches are already a factor local authorities can weigh under the existing Housing Act 2004 fit-and-proper-person test for licensing, independent of the 2025 Act.

Operational best practice

1. Build the check into your standard pre-tenancy workflow. It must be completed — and passed — before any adult occupier takes occupation, alongside referencing, deposit protection and right-to-rent-adjacent compliance.

2. Prefer the online service or a certified digital route. Faster, and it produces a Home Office-verifiable record. Remember BRC/BRP/FWP holders must use the online route — you cannot accept the physical card.

3. Maintain a portfolio-wide register of time-limited rights to rent, with expiry dates, so follow-up checks happen on time rather than being missed.

4. Keep records for the duration of the tenancy plus one year — document copies (or the online check reference), and the date of each check. These records are what makes the statutory excuse stand up.

5. Get any letting agent's process in writing. An agent typically carries out the check on the landlord's behalf, but liability only transfers to the agent where they have accepted it in writing — otherwise the landlord remains liable for any failure.

6. Apply the same standard to every applicant, and document that consistency, to manage discrimination risk alongside compliance risk.

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This is legal information, not legal advice. It explains the right to rent scheme under the law of England as at the date shown above and does not take account of your specific circumstances. Reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship. Tenancy Agreement Service is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. For advice on your particular situation, consult a regulated immigration or housing solicitor, or the Home Office Landlord Checking Service for a status query.