When you rent out a property in the UK there are a lot of things you become responsible for. Just one of those things is making sure that any tenants you take on are legally allowed to rent and live in your property. This is called having the ‘right to rent’, and it’s your job as a landlord to ensure your tenants meet the criteria. It’s an important stage in the tenant sourcing process. But what exactly does it mean, and how do you check a tenant has the right to rent?
What is Right To Rent?
The right to rent is very much what it says on the tin – it’s when an individual has the legal right to rent a private property from a landlord in the UK. It’s backed by the Immigration Act 2014 and applies to all landlords in the UK. It’s designed to stop illegal immigrants from accessing rental accommodation in the UK and does this by making sure all adults prove they are legal UK citizens before a rental agreement is signed. This applies to all landlords in the UK, but at the time of writing it doesn’t affect landlords in Wales, Scotland and Ireland (though this could change in the future).
In order to determine if a tenant has the right to rent, the landlord must perform a series of checks on each prospective tenant. This involves inspecting certain documents in the presence of the tenants and keeping copies of those documents on file throughout the tenancy. This should be done before the tenancy agreement is signed, including any follow-up checks that may need to be done.
What Documents Do Tenants Need?
A tenant needs to be able to provide a range of acceptable documents to prove that they are a legal UK citizen and have the right to rent in the UK. These vary slightly depending on if you are a native British citizen, or if you have been granted citizenship by the government, and there are various other combinations, but the main forms of ID required are as follow:
For British citizens:
- A combination of a valid UK driving license and an original UK birth certificate.
- A valid passport.
All other nationalities can provide:
- A valid EEA/swiss national ID card.
- A visa or proof of settlement status granted.
- A combination of a passport and a valid Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)
How Do I Do the Checks?
As a landlord, you need to collect these documents and run through a series of checks, including:
- Checking all adult tenants who will live in the property will do so as their only or main home.
- Ask tenants for the original documents that show they have the right to be in the UK.
- Check the original documents with the tenant physically present and ensure they’re valid.
- Conduct follow up checks at the appropriate time (for example, repeating the check when a tenant’s visa expires)
If the follow up checks reveal that an occupant in your property no longer has a valid ‘right to rent’, then you will need to report them to the home office.
What Happens If I Don’t Do the Checks?
Of course, there are some landlords who decide they don’t want to do the checks. But as with all laws, there are consequences for not carrying out your right to rent checks. For your tenants, if the home office finds out your checks haven’t been done, they will step in, which could result in fines or deportation. For you, renting to tenants who don’t have the right to rent means you’re open to some heavy penalty fines as well as facing potential prison time.
Right to rent checks may be relatively new in the world of rental, but they are a critical part of ensuring you and your tenants are happy, safe and on the right side of the law. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to handle it all on your own. At Northwood, we can act on your behalf and handle all tenants checking and vetting – including right to rent checks. If you would like to know more, please just get in touch with the team today.
