Checking your tenant's right to rent

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Who you have to check

You must check that a tenant or lodger can legally rent your residential property in England.

Check with the Home Office if the tenant is a Commonwealth citizen but does not have the right documents - they might still have the right to rent in the UK.

Before the start of a new tenancy, you must check all tenants aged 18 and over, even if:

  • they’re not named on the tenancy agreement
  • there’s no tenancy agreement
  • the tenancy agreement is not in writing

Check all new tenants. It’s against the law to only check people you think are not British citizens. You must not discriminate against anyone because of where they’re from.

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If the tenant is only allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time, you need to do the check in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy.

You do not need to check tenants in these types of accommodation:

  • social housing
  • a care home, hospice or hospital
  • a hostel or refuge
  • a mobile home
  • student accommodation

You also do not need to check tenants if they live in accommodation that:

  • is provided by a local authority
  • is provided as part of their job (known as ‘tied accommodation’)
  • has a lease that’s 7 years or longer

Read the landlords’ code of practice to find out if you need to do any other checks instead.