Right to rent in England

Who must have the right to rent

We must check that anyone who lives with you who is 18 or over has the right to rent.

We do not check anyone under 18, except to get proof they are under 18.

Share code

You can get a share code to prove your right to rent in England if you:

• have a biometric residence card or permit
• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• applied for a visa and used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document on your phone

Get a share code to prove your right to rent in England.

If the Home Office has your documents

We will need your Home Office reference number and we will ask them to check your documents.

We usually get a response within 2 days.

List A: documents that prove you have a permanent right to rent

Group 1

If you have any one of these documents, you can use it to prove you have a permanent right to rent.

We will not need to complete any follow-up checks.

Passports, passport cards and other travel documents

You can use a current or expired passport or passport card that proves you are:

• a British citizen
• a citizen of the UK and colonies and have the right of abode in the UK
• an Irish citizen

You can also use a current or expired passport or other travel document that is endorsed to show one of four options apply to you. The options are that you:

• are exempt from immigration control
• can stay in the UK
• have the right of abode in the UK
• have no time limit on your stay in the UK

Registration or naturalisation certificate

The certificate must register or naturalise you as a British citizen.

Document that shows you have unlimited leave to enter or remain

This can be a current or expired Home Office immigration status document. It must include a photograph and be endorsed to say you can stay in the UK indefinitely or have no time limit on your stay in the UK.

This could also be a document that the Home Office Landlord Checking Service has confirmed is valid from the:

• Bailiwick of Jersey
• Bailiwick of Guernsey
• Isle of Man

Group 2

If you have any two of these documents, you can use them to prove you have a permanent right to rent.

We will not need to complete any follow-up checks.

Birth or adoption certificates

A birth or adoption certificate issued in:

• the UK
• the Channel Islands
• the Isle of Man
• Ireland

Driving licence

A current UK driving licence.

Letter from a further or higher education institution

The letter must:

• confirm they have accepted you on a current course at the institution
• include their name and the name and length of your course

Letter to prevent or resolve homelessness

The letter must:

• be less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• be from a public authority, voluntary organisation or charity
• be part a scheme to help people get private rented housing
• confirm your name
• include the address where they are helping you become a tenant

A letter from a government department or local council

The letter must:

• be less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• confirm your name
• confirm you used the department’s or council’s services or that the department or council know you in some other way

A named official must sign the letter and give their name and professional address.

A letter from someone who employs you

The letter must:

• be less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• confirm your name, that you are an employee, and employee reference number or National Insurance Number
• include the name and business address of the person who employs you

A letter signed by someone with a British passport

The person signing the letter must be or have been a professional person or have good standing in their community.

The letter must:

• be less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• confirm your name
• confirm the name, address, profession, place of work and passport number of the person signing the letter
• say how they know you and that they have known you for at least 3 months

A letter from a police force in the UK

The letter must:

• be less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• confirm you have had a document from List A, Group 1 stolen
• include your crime reference number

Benefits letter or document

The letter or document must be from HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, Northern Ireland’s Department for Social Development, or a local council.

The letter or document must be:

• less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• a physical copy or screenshot of an electronic documents
• confirm you get a certain benefit

The certain benefits are:

• a social fund payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Disability Living Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Personal Independence Payment
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Universal Credit

HM armed forces identity card or document

The card of document must confirm you are or have been a serving member in any of HM armed forces.

The card or document must be from one of HM armed forces or the Secretary of State.

A letter from a prison service

The letter must:

• be from HM Prison and Probation Service, the Scottish Prison Service or the Northern Ireland Prison Service
• confirm your name, date of birth and release date within the last 6 months

A letter from a probation service

The letter must:

• be from an officer of HM Prison and Probation Service, a local council in Scotland who supervises offenders, or the Probation Board for Northern Ireland
• be less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• confirm your name, date of birth and that the officer supervises you

Criminal record check certificate

The certificate must be:

• from the Disclosure and Barring Service, Disclosure Scotland, AccessNI, the Secretary of State
• less than 3 months old when you use it as evidence
• about you

List B: documents that prove you have a time-limited right to rent

If you have any one of these documents, you can use it to prove you have a time-limited right to rent.

We must do a follow-up check before the end of the period that you can stay in the UK. This period is the latest of one of three dates. The dates are:

• 12 months after the last check
• the end date of your permission to stay in the UK
• the expiry date of Home Office document that proves your right to be in the UK

We can do the follow-up check up to 28 days before the deadline.

If your follow-up check shows you no longer have the right to rent, we must tell the Home Office.

Passport or travel document

The current passport or travel document must be endorsed to show you can stay in the UK for a “time-limited period”.

Or your passport must prove you are visiting the UK and you entered the UK within the last 6 months, and you are a national of:

• Australia
• Canada
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• South Korea
• USA
• a country in the European Economic Area

Document that shows you have limited leave to enter or remain

This can be a current Home Office immigration status endorsed to show you have limited leave to enter or remain.

This could also be a document that the Home Office Landlord Checking Service has confirmed is valid from the:

• Bailiwick of Jersey
• Bailiwick of Guernsey
• Isle of Man

Document that shows you have applied for limited leave to enter or remain together with a Positive Right to Rent Notice

The document must be from the:

• Bailiwick of Jersey
• Bailiwick of Guernsey
• Isle of Man

The Positive Right to Rent Notice must be from the Home Office Landlord Checking Service.

Document that confirms you have applied for leave to enter or remain together with a Positive Right to Rent Notice

This could be a document from the Home Office that confirms you applied on or before 30 June 2021 under the EU Settlement Scheme.

This could also be a Certificate of Application from the Home Office that confirms you applied on or after 1 July 2021 under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The Positive Right to Rent Notice must be from the Home Office Landlord Checking Service.