This feels like a stupid question and I’m embarrassed to ask, but…
How are self-managing landlords doing Right To Rent checks please? Because I don’t have an office for potential tenants to visit and my home is a) a building site and b) 30 miles away - so obviously I need to come to them. But how do I make copies of the documents? The only solution I can think of is to meet them at the property pre-tenancy and bring my hefty old photocopier with me.
Or am I allowed to take the documents away from the tenant, make copies at home, then return them to her a few days later on move-in day? How is everyone going about this please?!? TIA x
P.S. My elderly parents are actually the landlords, but I’m going to manage the rental for them after multiple very disappointing experiences with letting agents. I was managing the previous existing tenancy, but this is my first time finding a tenant myself.
Just take a photograph on your iPhone or scan with an scanner app
Email it to yourself do you have the date stamped
If it’s a share code put it in the webpage and confirm and print out at home or print screen
Ah… So it was a stupid question I thought it wasn’t that easy and you had to make physical copies “that can’t easily be altered”. Problem solved, thanks!
If the prospective tenant has a UK or Irish passport, you can use IDVT (Identification Document Validation Technology) through an approved IDSP (Identity Service Provider) to verify their right to rent. This would mean you would not need to see the actual passport yourself or make any copies. It may be something your referencing provider offers but I don’t think OpenRents referencing offers this.
You don’t need to make copies of documents any more. As Adam4837 says, if they’re UK or Irish, you have the option to use a Certified Identity Service Provider. For a small fee they will check everything for you. If the applicant is a foreign national, you have to ask them for a Home Office share code that you check online.
Yes, checking passports or other appt docs yourself is a valid alternative with UK citizens. I only suggested the CISP because the OP said that would be difficult.
First of all you ask the tenant to go to the home office website and go onto the share code for landlord section they will then have generated a share code by the home office ,the tenant send you the share code, you then go onto the home office website and a section for landlords checking a tenants share code, you input your name or company name,the tenant share code and their data birth, the home office automatically checks those details a photograph and text details will come up confirming whether or not your tenant has the right to rent in the UK if they do you will see an expiry date you check the photo against the tenant to ensure they are the same people.
I personally then will screenshot the information and share it to my photos section in my phone, you can of course then go to the print section and print off the actual documents on the printer
The whole process from start to finish when a tenant sends a share code and I have their details normally takes me about 5 minutes
It’s really easy if they’re not a British/Irish citizen. But if they are, it would appear you need them to present you with physical documents in person, which you then need to copy.
Luckily, this time, it turned out the tenant is from Portugal, so easy peasy.
I thought it wasn’t that easy and you had to make physical copies “that can’t easily be altered”. Problem solved, thanks!