From 1 February 2016, anyone who rents out private property in England, including those subletting or taking in lodgers, needs to make Right to Rent checks to make sure that their tenants/lodgers can legally rent residential property here.
This applies to all new tenancies starting on or after 1 February 2016.
Within 28 days before the start of a new tenancy, landlords must make checks for:
- People aged 18 and over living in the property, whether they are named in the tenancy agreement or not
- This applies to all types of tenancy agreements, written or oral
Tenants in some types of accommodation (e.g. social housing and care homes) won’t need to be checked.
The law is enforced by the UK Visa and Immigration Service, which is part of the Home Office and landlords can be fined up to £3,000 for renting to someone who isn’t allowed to rent property in England.
How to make a check
- Check which adults will live at your property as their only or main home.
- See the original documents that allow the tenant to live in the UK.
- Check that the documents are genuine and belong to the tenant, with the tenant present. Check the names and the photographs on each document.
- Make and keep copies of the documents and record the date you made the check.
- You must tell the Home Office if you find out that your tenant can no longer legally rent property in England. You might be fined if you don’t.
