Right to rent - procedure

Wondering if someone more experienced can help… I have tried to get my head around the gov ‘Right to Rent’ document but I am not sure I am understanding it properly. Am I right in thinking the following:

  • When renting a 2 bed flat privately, you must check the documents of any tenant who applies to rent

  • The document can be a passport, driving license or birth certificate

  • You must see the tenant’s original documentation and take a photo copy and make note of the date it was checked

  • If the passport/birth certificate/Driving license is British, then the tenant has the right to rent

Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated!

What youve described is for UK citizens. If thd person is an EU national its different. If theyre a non EU foreign natiknal, its different again.

Hi @Charlotte37

If you are letting a property in England then you’ll need to check the right to rent of every tenant over the age of 18 (the requirements don’t apply to landlords letting properties elsewhere in the UK).

There are lots of different documents that tenants can provide to prove their right to rent and increasing the UK government is encouraging landlords to carryout digital checks using tenants’ share codes.

We’ve got a full guide on right to rent checks in our help centre:

https://help.openrent.co.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/4409723991057-Right-to-Rent

Our guidance also links to the official Home Office guidance which gives a full list of acceptable documentation as well as a handy step by step guide.