Check Your Tenant's Right to Rent
You must check that a tenant or lodger can legally rent your residential property in England if their tenancy starts on or after 1 February 2016. If your property is in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley or Wolverhampton, you must make checks on your tenants if their tenancies started on or after 1 December 2014. You can be fined up to £3,000 for renting your property to someone who isn’t allowed to rent property in England.
Within 28 days before the start of a new tenancy, you must make checks for:
- people aged 18 and over living in your property, whether they’re named in the tenancy agreement or not
- 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. Further details explaining which residential tenancy agreements fall within the scope of the Scheme is provided in the Code of Practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation (PRA) for tenancies. This document is available for download below.
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.
- Make and keep copies of the documents and record the date you made the check.
- they live there most of the time
- they keep most of their belongings there
- their partner or children live with them
- they’re registered to vote at the property
- they’re registered with the doctor using that address
- the documents are originals and belong to the tenant
- the dates for the tenant’s right to stay in the UK haven’t expired
- the photos on the documents are of the tenant
- the dates of birth are the same in all documents (and are believable)
- the documents aren’t too damaged or don’t look like they’ve been changed
- if any names are different on documents, there are supporting documents to show why, eg marriage certificate or divorce decree
If the tenant is arranging their tenancy from overseas, you must see their original documents before they start living at the property.
- make a copy that can’t be changed, eg a photocopy
- for passports, copy every page with the expiry date or applicant’s details (eg nationality, date of birth and photograph), including endorsements, eg a work visa or Certificate of Entitlement to the right of abode in the UK
- copy both sides of biometric residence permits
- make a complete copy of all other documents
- record the date you made the copy
Keep copies of the tenant’s documents for the time they’re your tenants and for one year after. Make sure you follow Data Protection Law.
Immgration: Right to Rent Checks Resources
- Who can occupy residential accommodation?
- What letting arrangements fall within the Scheme?
- Who may be liable for a penalty?
- How to establish a statutory excuse
- An overview of how the civil penalty scheme will be administered
- Determining liability and calculating the penalty amount
Further checks
You must make a further check on your tenant to make sure they can still stay in the UK if their permission to stay is time limited. You can get a fine (also known as a civil penalty) if you don’t make a further check and your tenant’s permission to stay runs out.
You must make a further check just before either:
- the expiry date of your tenant’s right to stay in the UK
- 12 months after your previous check
You won’t have to make a further check if your tenant doesn’t have any time restrictions on their right to stay in the UK.
If your tenant doesn’t pass a further check you must tell the Home Office if you find out that your tenant can no longer legally rent property in England after making a further check. You might be fined if you don’t. You can choose to evict your tenant if you want to. You must follow the rules for evicting tenants. If you have a lodger, you can choose to end your tenancy agreement with them. How much notice you give your lodger will depend on which type of tenancy they have.
Agents and subletting
You can ask any agents that manage or let your property to carry out the check for you. You should have this agreement in writing.
If a tenant sub-lets the property without you knowing, they’re responsible for carrying out checks on any sub-tenants.
Penalties for illegal renting
You can be fined if you rent your property to someone who isn’t allowed to stay in the UK and you can’t show that you checked their right to rent.
If a tenant sub-lets the property without you knowing, they’re responsible for carrying out checks on any sub-tenants. They will liable for any civil penalties if they don’t do the check correctly.
- a ‘no action’ notice
- they keep most of their belongings there
- a civil penalty notice with the amount you have to pay
Lodgers in a private household
- £80 for a first time penalty
- £500 for further penalties
Tenants in rented accommodation
- £1000 for a first time penalty
- £3000 for further penalties
Details of how to pay are on your civil penalty notice. You can save 30% if you pay your civil penalty within 21 days.
- you aren’t liable to pay the penalty, e.g. you’re not the landlord
- you’ve made a correct check on the tenant or made a report to the Home Office after a repeat check (where a tenant no longer has a right to rent)
- the penalty wasn’t calculated correctly
You’ll be sent an ‘objection outcome notice’ within 28 days that will say if you have to pay the penalty or not.
Appeals
You must appeal against the penalty within 28 days of the date on the objection outcome notice. You can appeal for the same reasons that you made your objection. You might have to pay the Home Office’s legal costs if you lose your appeal.