Right-to-rent rules have changed, from 1 October

Why the digital rules on right-to-rent matter more now after the Renters’ Rights Act

By Tom Entwistle, LandlordZONE

Since 1 May, landlords in England who let to the wrong person can no longer rely on Section 21 to put matters right. There are no longer any fixed-term tenancies. Every tenancy is now an assured tenancy, periodic and open-ended. You can only bring it to an end using a limited number of proven grounds under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, as amended. 

That makes the tenant verification checks carried out before a tenancy begins more important than ever. Also, from 1 October this year, the Home Office has changed the rules on how the right to rent checks work. 

In July I wrote an article on this topic, about why tenant referencing had just become a whole lot more important. The article covered forged documents, income verification and the strengths and limits of identity verification technology. 

I will not go over that ground again here, but you can read it for yourself. This article concentrates on the one pre-tenancy check that is a legal requirement rather than simply good practice to protect yourself. But given good practice, both aspects can be combined to some extent. Here I explain what landlords and agents now need to do differently.

The right-to-rent scheme applies to residential tenancies in England only. It does not apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The article here is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords and agents should refer to the current Home Office guidance and take independent professional advice given their own circumstances.

What has changed, and why?

The new rules stem from the Immigration (Restrictions on Employment and Residential Accommodation) (Prescribed Requirements and Codes of Practice) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 , made on 24 June and now in force from 1 October. 

This legislation amends the 2014 Order that prescribes how right-to-rent checks must be carried out. They bring in revised versions of the two statutory codes of practice; one covers the scheme and its civil penalties, and the other covers unlawful discrimination. The Home Office has also republished its Landlord’s Guide to Right to Rent Checks to reflect the changes.

The story behind these changes is the Home Office’s move to a fully digital immigration system. Physical immigration documents are being replaced with eVisas, and the guidance makes note that visa sticker permits placed inside passports were phased out from 1 July 2026. 

At the same time, Part 2 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 puts the government’s register of digital verification services on the statute book, and the right-to-rent rules are now tied directly to that register. It establishes a regulatory and reliability framework for internet-based digital verification services (DVS) in the UK. See the UK digital verification services trust framework

The basic duty for you to do the checks has not changed. Before a tenancy is entered into, landlords or their agents must check that every adult who will live in the property as their only or main home has a right to rent. 

That applies whether or not the person is named on the tenancy agreement and regardless of nationality. British citizens must be included in these checks. Where a person has a time-limited right to rent, the check must be made no earlier than 28 days before the tenancy is entered into. 

All checks that are still current and carried out correctly under the previous right-to-rent guidance will remain valid.

Three routes

There are three lawful ways to carry out a check. Which one you should use depends on the tenant applicant.

Manual checks are still available. In this case the landlord or agent examines original documents from the Home Office’s List A or List B in the presence of the applicant. This can be either face-to-face or on a live video call while holding up the original documents. 

A scan, a photograph sent in advance or a faxed copy is not acceptable; it must be the original, but then the documents must be copied and the copies retained on file.

Route 2 is where the Home Office online service is for anyone whose immigration status is held digitally. This now includes every eVisa holder. The applicant must provide a right-to-rent share code, which begins with the letter R and is valid for 90 days, together with their date of birth. 

The landlord then accesses the service directly. In this case a screenshot, a printout or the applicant’s own phone screen will not do the job. The landlord or agent must satisfy themselves that the photograph matches the person in front of them. eVisas cannot be checked through third-party providers.

Route 3 is using a registered digital verification service provider. This is where the main changes come in. Previously the rules referred to “identity document validation technology” supplied by certified providers. 

Now, a landlord or agent using a digital service must only use a provider listed on the government’s digital verification services register. You must confirm that it provides the right-to-rent checks (“RtR DVSP” in the government’s jargon).

Unregistered photo-matching apps, general screening tools and emailed images of a passport will not provide you with a “statutory excuse” you need if it all goes wrong and you are caught out letting illegally, however convincing the resulting proof may look.

A statutory excuse is a legal defence that protects landlords and letting agents in England from civil penalties or criminal fines if they inadvertently rent a property to someone who does not have the legal right to be in the UK.

The scope of right-to-rent digital checks has been widened. Registered providers may now verify British and Irish passports and Irish passport cards up to six months after expiry, although this relies on reading the document’s chip. Not every provider is capable of offering this service.  

Legitimate providers may also verify digital versions of documents on Lists A and B when the issuing authority makes them available. Facial recognition remains an option, supplied by a registered provider, and the landlord must keep a copy of the facial comparison, along with the provider’s confirmation.

One practical consequence is easily overlooked. British and Irish citizens cannot obtain a share code, so their checks must be made manually or, alternatively, through a registered provider. Landlords and agents need to be familiar with more than one route.

Most leading tenant-referencing agencies in the UK will be equipped to carry out legally compliant right-to-rent checks as part of their identity, credit checking and referencing services. Landlords and agents should ensure that their provider uses a registered digital verification service.  

The discrimination trap

The revised discrimination code gives tenant applicants some choice when it comes to providing proofs. Landlords and agents cannot insist that an applicant use a digital check, and cannot demand a particular document where they can offer an acceptable alternative. 

If a digital or facial recognition check cannot be completed, the applicant should be offered an alternative way to prove their identity. The code also warns that automated processes must not produce discriminatory outcomes.

Those applicants whose status is easier to verify (usually British or Irish nationals) should not be favoured over others, nor should tenants with a time-limited right to rent be treated less favourably, once their limited entitlement is revealed.

The core principle with all forms of avoiding accusations of discrimination is consistency. Using a checklist document for everyone helps you provide proof of consistency; this is the way to go. 

Checking only those applicants who “seem foreign”, or making assumptions based on appearance, accent or nationality, risks a claim of race discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. 

The Home Office guidance underlines the fact that compensation for unlawful discrimination has no upper limit. Discrimination by an agent can also be attributed to the landlord (the agent operates on their behalf as their agent), unless the landlord took all reasonable steps to prevent this. Landlords should be prepared to investigate their agent’s processes.

Discrimination compliance also comes under the new Renters’ Rights Act’s prohibitions on refusing those tenants with children or receiving benefits. Landlords are being more careful about whom they let to under the new assured tenancy legislation, but (1) they need to be careful that this is applied even-handedly, and (2) they have a written process, a checklist to provide good evidence that this has been done. 

The penalties

Civil penalties are set out in the Home Office’s code of practice and are charged per disqualified person. For a lodger the figure is up to £5,000 for a first breach and £10,000 for a repeat breach within three years. For any other occupier it is up to £10,000 and £20,000 respectively. 

There is also a criminal offence, under section 33A of the Immigration Act 2014, where a landlord knows or has reasonable cause to believe that an occupier is disqualified. This carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment on indictment. 

This rule is aimed at the rogue operators rather than those making an honest mistake, but “reasonable cause to believe” is not a high bar for a landlord who is careless or ignores these rules and warning signs.

Possession

The possession position involves Ground 7B, a mandatory ground requiring two weeks’ notice, only available once the Home Office has served written notice on the landlord identifying the disqualified occupier. 

A landlord cannot invoke this simply because a tenant’s leave has run out. Similarly, a landlord or agent who suspects there’s a problem can ask the Home Office for a Notice of Letting to a Disqualified Person. In these circumstances they can end the tenancy without a court order, but the Home Office must control the timing.

Follow up checks

For a tenant with a time-limited right to rent, the statutory excuse lasts only until the later of one year from the check or the end of their permission to stay. Therefore, a follow-up check is essential before then. If the tenant fails this check, the landlord must report it to the Home Office without delay to keep their statutory excuse. 

Under the old regime, prior to the RRA, most tenancies ended automatically within a couple of years. Now that tenancies are periodic and potentially indefinite, follow-up checks may recur for many years, and therefore a reliable diary system is essential.

Agents, lodgers and sub-lets

Where a landlord appoints an agent in contract (that is with an agreement in writing) to carry out checks, liability for civil penalties passes to the agent. The appointment must be in writing. Landlords should examine their management agreements carefully and confirm exactly who is responsible for the initial and follow-up checks. 

Should a tenant take in a lodger or sublets the accommodation, the tenant is responsible for checking the occupier, unless the landlord has agreed in writing for them to do these things.

A final word 

The latest rule changes don’t change very much, but landlords and agents should be aware of the details and how they inrelate with the Renters' Rights Act and and Descrimination Laws. The October changes simply tighten how their existing duties must be carried out. They make it clear that convenience is no defence: a digital check from an “unregistered” provider is, in law, no defence at all.

[Main Image Credit: Edmund Dantes]