How should a Right to Rent check be conducted?
27th Dec 2019

How should a Right to Rent check be conducted?

 

The tenant needs to provide the  landlord or letting agent with evidence of their right to rent. The landlord or agents’s procedures should let the prospective tenant know in advance what they require, but then the onus is on them to provide it.

The landlord or agent will need to see ORIGINAL documents, but they could ask the tenant to come with copies already made if they are not meeting in an office.

A Code of Practice details lists of accepted documents.

 

The tenant needs to provide the  landlord or letting agent with evidence of their right to rent. The landlord or agents’s procedures should let the prospective tenant know in advance what they require, but then the onus is on them to provide it.

The landlord or agent will need to see ORIGINAL documents, but they could ask the tenant to come with copies already made if they are not meeting in an office.

A Code of Practice details lists of accepted documents.

Also there is a distinction between a continuous right to rent and limited right to rent. This is important for how and when any follow-up checks are undertaken.

 

In the Code of Practice, List A documents provide evidence of a person’s continuous right to rent in the UK and consists of two groups:

Group 1 – Acceptable single documents

Group 2 – Acceptable document combinations

 

List B documents provide evidence of a person’s limited right to rent in the UK, (so future checks will be necessary)

 

 

List A – Acceptable documents establishing a continuous statutory excuse (draft)

 

Group 1 – Acceptable single documents

  • A passport showing the holder, or a person named in the passport as the child of the holder, is a British citizen or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the right of abode in the UK.
  • A passport or national identity card showing the holder, or a person named in the passport as the child of the holder, is a national of the European Economic Area or Switzerland.
  • A Registration Certificate or Document Certifying Permanent Residence issued by the Home Office, to a national of a European Union, European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
  • A Permanent Residence Card, indefinite leave to remain, indefinite leave to enter or no time limit card issued by the Home Office, to a non-EEA national the family member of a national of a European Union, European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
  • A valid Biometric Residence Permit issued by the Home Office to the holder indicating that the person named is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
  • A valid passport endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the UK, or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
  • A valid Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the named person is permitted to stay indefinitely in the UK or has no time limit on their stay in the UK.
  • A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.
  • Documents held by persons exempt from immigration control (e.g. diplomatic passports, NATO ID card)

 

Group 2 – Acceptable document combinations , i.e. any two of the following documents

  • A full birth or adoption certificate issued in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland, which includes the name(s) of at least one of the holder’s parents or adoptive parents.
  • Letter of Attestation from a named government or local government official or British passport holder, (giving their name, address and passport number) issued within the last 12 months or a UK based employer’s reference issued within the last 12 months.
  • Letter from a UK police force confirming the person is victim of crime and personal documents have been stolen issued within the last 3 months.
  • Evidence of the person’s previous or current service in HM armed forces.
  • HM prison discharge papers or probation service letter.
  • Official results of credit reference check showing person has been economically active in the UK for the past 12 months or any year in the past 5 years.
  • Letter from a UK further or higher education institution confirming the person’s acceptance on a course of studies.
  • A current UK driving licence (a full or provisional).
  • Current UK Firearms Certificate.
  • Disclosure and Barring Service certificate issued within the last 6 months.
  • Benefits paperwork issued by HMRC, Local Authority or a Job Centre Plus, on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions, within previous 12 months prior to commencement of tenancy.
  • Salary statements or wage slips issued by a UK based employer within the last 6 months.

 

List B – Acceptable documents establishing a time-limited statutory excuse

Group 1- Documents where a time-limited statutory excuse lasts until the expiry of leave

  • A current passport endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the UK.
  • A current Biometric Residence Permit issued by the Home Office to the holder, which indicates that, the named person can currently stay in the UK.
  • A Residence Card or a Derivative Residence Card issued by the Home Office to a non-EEA national who is either a family member of a national of a European Union, European Economic Area country or Switzerland or has a derived right of residence in the UK under European Union law.
  • A valid Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office to the holder with a valid endorsement indicating that the named person may stay in the UK.
  • A “yes” response  from the Landlords Checking Service to a right to rent request sent directly to the landlord (N.B. this is not transferrable).