What are right to rent checks and what do I have to show?

The scheme puts an immigration check into the middle of an ordinary letting, which is why it is worth understanding before a viewing rather than during one. The two practical points are that it applies to every adult occupier and not only the named tenant, and that most people with immigration status now have no physical document at all, so the online share code is the only way to prove it.

Step by step

1. Confirm it applies to you.England only, and only where the property will be the occupier's only or main home. It does not apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and it does not apply to some accommodation types including social housing allocations, care homes, refuges and some student accommodation.
2. Expect it to cover everyone.Every adult who will live there as their main home must be checked, including people who are not named on the agreement. Tell the landlord who will be living there so the checks are done properly and once.
3. British and Irish citizens: use a passport if you have one.A British or Irish passport, current or expired, is the simplest evidence. A certified digital identity service can also be used, in which case you upload documents and take a photograph rather than handing anything over.
4. Everyone else: generate a share code.Use the GOV.UK 'prove your right to rent' service to generate a code, which is valid for a limited period. Give the code and your date of birth to the landlord, who checks it on the corresponding GOV.UK service. It is the only route for people whose status is digital.
5. Know that biometric residence permits have gone.Physical permits were withdrawn and replaced with digital status. A landlord cannot rely on an expired card, so the online check is the route even if you still hold the plastic.
6. Understand time-limited status.Where your permission to be in the UK has an end date, the landlord's check is time limited and must be repeated. Renewing your status in good time avoids an awkward follow-up.
7. Know what a landlord may not do.They cannot require documents only from people who look or sound foreign, cannot refuse to consider you because checking seems inconvenient, and cannot treat a British passport as the only acceptable evidence. Discriminatory practice breaches equality law and there is a statutory code about it.
8. Give the evidence early.Have the share code or the passport ready when you apply. A landlord choosing between applicants will favour the one whose paperwork is straightforward, and a share code takes a few minutes to generate.
9. Keep a copy of what you provided.The code, the date and who you gave it to. If a dispute arises later about whether a check was done properly, that record is useful to you as well as to the landlord.
10. Complain if you are treated unfairly.The agent's redress scheme, the council, and the Equality Advisory and Support Service. Refusing to rent to someone because of nationality or race, dressed up as a right to rent concern, is unlawful discrimination.

Tips

• Generate the share code before you start viewing. Codes have a limited life, so regenerate rather than reusing an old one.
• Tell the landlord about the Home Office landlord checking service if your status is pending. Most do not know it exists and it removes the obstacle.
• Keep a note of the code and the date you gave it. It occasionally matters later.

Common mistakes

• Turning up to a viewing without a share code — It takes minutes to generate online and it makes an application straightforward at exactly the moment a landlord is comparing applicants.
• Assuming an expired residence permit still works — Physical permits were replaced with digital status. A check on an expired card gives the landlord nothing, so the online route is the only one that works.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask