Landlords and letting agents in England carrying out right to rent checks on or after 1 October 2026 are covered by the updated Landlord's guide to right to rent checks, which includes new requirements for digital verification service providers.
Key facts
- Who: Landlords and their agents carrying out right to rent checks on adult occupiers of privately rented accommodation in England
- From: 1 October 2026
- Source: Landlord's guide to right to rent checks
Replaces the previous version of the guide. Earlier versions are available through the UK Government Web Archive.
The Home Office has updated the Landlord's guide to right to rent checks. The guide says it applies to right to rent checks conducted on or after 1 October 2026.
The Home Office lists these as the most significant changes:
- Where a digital verification service provider (DVSP) is used, registered providers must be used for digital right to rent checks. The guide also clarifies and expands the role of DVSPs, including the types of checks and technology that can be used.
- The lists of acceptable documents are updated, including digital versions of documents that a landlord can verify.
- Content on Service Providers from Switzerland is removed, following closure of the route on 31 December 2025.
- The guide reflects the move away from visa vignettes from 1 July 2026 and the increased use of eVisas to evidence immigration status.
- The section on EEA citizens and their family members is consolidated. It covers how they can evidence their right to rent and points to the online service, Certificates of Application and the Landlord Checking Service where relevant.
- The annex on Ukrainian nationals is removed, because right to rent checks now apply consistently across nationalities. A reference to the Foundational Access Verification (FAV) process stays in the main guidance.
- The guidance is restructured and reformatted throughout.
The guide also sets out the following requirements. Landlords must check every adult occupier, whatever their nationality, before a tenancy begins. For a person with a time-limited right to rent, the check must be made no earlier than 28 days before the tenancy agreement is entered into. A follow-up check must be completed before the statutory excuse expires if the person remains in occupation.
The guide says a share code is valid for 90 days and must be used with the person's date of birth. A Positive Right to Rent Notice from the Landlord Checking Service gives a statutory excuse for 12 months from the date in the notice.
The Right to Rent Scheme applies to residential tenancy agreements first entered into on or after 1 December 2014 in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall, and on or after 1 February 2016 in the rest of England.
What this means for applicants
Landlords and agents who use a digital verification service provider for a digital right to rent check on or after 1 October 2026 must use a registered provider, according to the guide. Checks should use the updated lists of acceptable documents. Landlords who carry out checks correctly and keep the required records establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if an occupier is later found not to have the right to rent. Landlords and agents may be liable for a civil penalty if they rent accommodation to a person who is disqualified from renting because of their immigration status.
Landlords and letting agents can sign up to Home Office communications to receive notifications about updates to the Right to Rent Scheme.
Sources
- Landlord's guide to right to rent checks, Home Office, updated 1 October 2026