Right to Rent 2026: Digital Checks & IDVT

You’ve found a tenant and the move-in date is set. Before anyone gets the keys, every adult who will live there as their only or main home needs a Right to Rent check, done before the tenancy begins. The duty falls on every England landlord, letting agent or guarantor-arranger. Here’s how to do it and what to keep.

Missing a check, or doing it wrongly, can cost you up to £10,000 per illegally-let occupier for a first breach (£20,000 for repeat breaches) under the civil penalty regime uplifted in 2024. In the most serious cases (where a landlord knew or had reasonable cause to believe a tenant had no right to rent), the criminal offence carries up to 5 years imprisonment.

You can check a British or Irish passport, or an Irish passport card, digitally through a registered digital verification service provider, and manual checks of original documents still count. The Home Office code of practice that applies from 1 October 2026 sets the rules this guide follows: a digital provider must be on the government’s OFDIA register, a passport up to six months past its expiry can be checked digitally, and a check on someone with a time-limited right can be made no more than 28 days before the tenancy starts. This guide covers what’s required, the four check types, how a digital check works, what to keep and for how long, and the rules around re-checks and reporting.

Scope note: Right to Rent applies only in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have the scheme. If you let across borders, only the England properties carry the duty.

Who must do a Right to Rent check?

The responsible party

The duty sits with the "landlord" as defined in the Immigration Act 2014. This includes:

• Individual private landlords
• Ltd company landlords
• Head-tenants who sublet with landlord consent
• Letting agents (when expressly agreed in writing to act as the responsible checker)

If you use a letting agent, you can shift the responsibility to them, but only if the written management contract expressly states the agent is the "responsible checker" under the Immigration Act. Without that wording, the duty stays with you.

Who you must check

Every adult (18+) who will occupy the property as their only or main home. This includes:

• Named tenants on the tenancy
• Occupants not on the tenancy (adult children, partners moving in)
• Lodgers in HMO rooms

You do not check minors under 18, people staying in holiday accommodation, or anyone in hostel/refuge / care accommodation / ongoing social-housing transfers where the council handles checks.

Every adult you check usually arrives as an applicant first. From £7.99 a month, LetCompliance takes each application through one shareable link, records each tenant’s Right to Rent check with its date, and reminds you before a time-limited right needs its follow-up check. Get started

The four Right to Rent check types

1. Manual check (British/Irish citizens, passport in hand)

You must see the original document with the tenant present. A live video call only works if you already hold the original document. Take clear copies (both sides, all pages) of:

• A British or Irish passport, or another List A document (a British passport can be current or expired). EU Settlement Scheme status is an eVisa: you check it online with a share code only.

Record:

• When and how the check was made
• Who carried it out
• A copy of each document, front and back, in a format that cannot be altered

Keep them for the tenancy and 1 year after it ends, then destroy them securely.

Verdict: still valid. A digital check through a registered provider is quicker for British and Irish passports and leaves a clean record.

2. Digital check through a registered provider (British/Irish passports)

Use a Right to Rent digital verification service provider registered on the government’s OFDIA register, with a note on the register that it can do right to rent checks (GOV.UK: "Find registered digital verification services"). It can check a British or Irish passport, or an Irish passport card, including one up to six months past its expiry. Providers set their own fees.

Workflow:

1. 1You trigger the check from the provider’s dashboard
2. 2Tenant receives a link by email/SMS
3. 3Tenant scans their passport and takes a selfie
4. 4The provider’s software verifies document authenticity and face match
5. 5You receive a digital identity verification report (PDF)

Keep the report for the tenancy and 1 year after it ends.

The digital check gives you a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if the provider is on the register with that note, you checked that the photo matches the tenant, and you kept the result.

3. Home Office online service (non-British/Irish)

For visa holders, EU Settlement Scheme holders, BNO visa holders, frontier workers, eVisa holders, etc.:

1. 1Tenant generates a share code via gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status
2. 2Tenant gives you the share code plus their date of birth
3. 3You enter share code + DOB at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent
4. 4The Home Office service confirms right to rent (unlimited or time-limited) and displays/emails a confirmation
5. 5You keep the confirmation for the tenancy and 1 year after it ends

If the right to rent is time-limited, note the dates for a follow-up check: the check date, the end of the permission and the expiry of the document.

4. Home Office Landlord Checking Service (rare)

Used where the tenant doesn’t hold documents allowing the above checks (e.g., an outstanding in-time application, appeal pending, certain Home Office referrals). You complete an online request to the Home Office; they answer within 2 working days with a Yes or No decision. Their response provides your statutory excuse.

The penalty regime (raised in 2024)

Civil penalty levels

Since 13 February 2024, civil penalties uplifted dramatically:

These are per adult. Under-18s aren’t checked, so a couple with two children counts as two adults: up to £20,000 for a first breach. Four adults would be up to £40,000 for a first breach, or £80,000 for a repeat.

Criminal offence

Where a landlord knew or had reasonable cause to believe that an occupant did not have the right to rent, a criminal offence can apply, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment and/or unlimited fine (Immigration Act 2016 s.39).

How to earn the statutory excuse

You are protected from a civil penalty if you:

1. 1Conducted a prescribed check (one of the 4 types) before the tenancy started
2. 2Retained the required records
3. 3Conducted follow-up checks where required (time-limited status)
4. 4Reported to the Home Office where a follow-up failed

Miss any of the four and your statutory excuse is broken.

Follow-up checks and time-limited right to rent

When a follow-up is required

If the original check showed a time-limited right to rent, do the follow-up check before the statutory excuse from it runs out. That is the latest of:

• 12 months after your previous check,
• the end of the person’s permission to be in the UK, or
• the expiry of the document they showed.

How to do the follow-up

Usually via the Home Office online service with a fresh share code. Retain the new confirmation.

If the follow-up check fails

If the tenant cannot demonstrate a continuing right to rent:

1. 1Report to the Home Office through its online form on GOV.UK, as soon as reasonably practicable and before your statutory excuse expires
2. 2Retain proof of the report: making it is what keeps your statutory excuse

Reporting is a legal lifeline, not a threat: it preserves your defence against a later civil penalty.

The Right to Rent check in 6 practical steps

Here’s the real-world workflow for an England landlord in 2026:

Step 1: At viewing stage

Ask the prospective tenant informally whether they hold a British/Irish passport, EU Settlement Scheme status, or a UK visa. Knowing this early lets you plan the check type.

Step 2: Before issuing the tenancy

Trigger the appropriate check:

• British/Irish: a check link from your registered digital provider, or the passport in person
• Non-British/Irish: share code via gov.uk/view-right-to-rent

Step 3: Record the check

Save the provider’s report, your dated copies or the Home Office confirmation to your document vault with the tenant’s name, check type, date, and any expiry date. This is the audit trail that will matter if a civil penalty letter arrives in 12 months.

Step 4: Confirm timeline for follow-ups

If their permission is time-limited, diary the follow-up check for before the latest of 12 months after your check, the end of their permission and the expiry of the document they showed.

Step 5: Move-in

Check is complete. Original can be served as part of the tenancy starter pack if you want but it’s not required.

Step 6: End of tenancy

Keep all records for the tenancy and 1 year after it ends; the code of practice then says to destroy them securely.

Common mistakes that break the statutory excuse

1. 1Checking only the named tenant. An adult partner or grown-up child who isn’t on the tenancy also needs a check.
2. 2Checking after move-in. The check must be before the tenancy starts. Retrospective checks do not cure the breach.
3. 3Accepting a photocopy or photo instead of the original document or a registered digital check. Photocopies alone do not satisfy the scheme.
4. 4Missing the follow-up on time-limited rights. Your statutory excuse ends on the latest of 12 months after the check, the end of the permission and the expiry of the document, and not a day later.
5. 5Not reporting a failed follow-up to the Home Office. The report preserves your excuse; silence destroys it.
6. 6Letting the agent’s responsibility roll off. If the agent contract isn’t explicit about who’s the "responsible checker", the duty defaults back to you.
7. 7Using an unregistered digital provider, or skipping the photo match: use a provider on the government’s OFDIA register with a note that it can do right to rent checks, check the photo matches the tenant, and keep the result.

Data protection and discrimination

Data protection

A digital provider's report, your copies and the Home Office confirmations contain personal data and biometric data, so handle them under UK GDPR. You must have a lawful basis (legal obligation) and a privacy notice explaining what you do with it. Keep them for the tenancy and 1 year after it ends, as the code of practice says, then delete them securely. See the tenant privacy notice guide.

Discrimination risk

The Equality Act 2010 applies. You must check every adult, not only those you perceive as "foreign". Selective checking based on accent, name, or appearance can found a direct discrimination claim. Check everyone, the same way, every time.

FAQs

Does the letting agent still need a Right to Rent check if I’ve already done one?

No double-checking required. If the agent is the "responsible checker" under the management contract, only the agent checks. If you’re the responsible checker, only you check. Two of you doing the same check is legally unnecessary but harmless.

Can I do the check by video call in 2026?

Only in one case. For a manual check you must see the original document with the tenant present, and a live video call only works if you already hold the original document. Otherwise use a registered digital provider for a British or Irish passport (or an Irish passport card), or the Home Office online service with a share code for eVisa and EU Settlement Scheme status.

Do I have to recheck existing tenants?

Only if the original check was time-limited and a follow-up is now due. You do not re-check tenants whose original right to rent was permanent (British/Irish/ILR holders).

What if the tenant refuses a digital check?

Explain it’s the same check an employer uses for Right to Work: common and low-risk. If they still refuse, you can revert to a manual in-person check. Don’t let a tenant’s discomfort with technology become your legal exposure.

What if I discover an existing tenant doesn’t have right to rent?

Do not take unilateral action. Report to the Home Office through its online form, as soon as reasonably practicable, to preserve your statutory excuse. Then consider Section 8 possession if the situation continues. Do not change the locks or harass the tenant: illegal eviction carries separate criminal penalties.

Related reading

• Right to Rent checks guide: the document lists in more detail
• UK landlord compliance 2026: the full compliance checklist
• First-time landlord checklist UK 2026: step 15 in depth
• Landlord fines UK 2026: every civil penalty in one place
• Tenant privacy notice UK: data protection for tenancy records

Get started. The Right to Rent check is one step in letting the property, so LetCompliance keeps it inside the same flow: it shares your advert, takes applications, books viewings, e-signs the periodic tenancy agreement and sets up rent collection by Direct Debit on a paid plan. Every check is timestamped in a dated audit trail, and the IDVT report or Home Office confirmation goes into the tenant’s documents with the date on it.