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Check Your Tenant's Right to Rent

Check Your Tenant's Right to Rent

Right to Rent

All landlords renting a property must do a ‘Right to Rent’ check, and it has to include anyone in the household who is 18 or over.

If a landlord uses a letting agent, you can ask them to do this.

This check only applies to landlords and their tenants, so if the tenant decides to rent part of their home to someone else, then it is their responsibility to do the check.

Landlords can be fined and even sent to prison if they don’t do these checks.

If you are unsure about Right to Rent checks, free advice is available over the phone on the Landlord’s helpline.

  • Call: 0300 069 9799 
  • Opening Times: Monday to Thursday, from 9am to 4:45pm - Friday, 9am to 4:30pm

A tenant can use any of the evidence set out in Lists A or B for a right-to-rent check.

List A contains the range of documents showing you’re a British citizen, EEA or Swiss national, or a person with an indefinite right to be in the UK. Landlords who correctly check the documents from this list will not need to do follow-up checks.

List B contains the range of documents that may be accepted by a person with a time-limited right to be in the UK. Landlords who check a document in this list will establish a time-limited statutory excuse and should carry out follow-up checks.

We are unable to offer legal advice in these matters and any information on these pages does not constitute legal advice. For up-to-date information and guidance please visit GOV.UK.

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