How to Do a Right to Rent Check Without a Letting Agent

You do not need a letting agent to run a right to rent check in England. The process is designed for landlords to carry out themselves — the Home Office publishes the rules, the verification tools are free to use, and the check itself takes 15 to 30 minutes per applicant once you know which of the four routes to follow. What you need is a clear process, the right record-keeping habit, and a follow-up system for time-limited permission.

Here is how to do it yourself, dated to the Code of Practice in force from 1 October 2026.

The Four Verification Routes

There are three prescribed right to rent check methods: manual documents, the Home Office online service, and a registered RtR DVSP. The Landlord Checking Service is an additional pathway when the Home Office needs to verify a case. Which method or pathway applies depends on the applicant's status and the evidence they can provide.

Route 1 — Manual document check. The applicant shows you original documents from List A (unlimited right to rent) or List B (time-limited right to rent). You check the documents in their presence — in person or via live video call, with you in physical possession of the original document — verify the photo matches, take a clear copy, write the date of the check on the copy, and store it. This is the route for British and Irish citizens presenting a passport, and for anyone presenting physical documents that are still valid under the October 2026 Code.

Route 2 — Online share code check. The applicant generates a 9-character share code on GOV.UK, starting with the letter 'R' for Right to Rent. You enter the code at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent along with the applicant's date of birth, view the result, and save or print the profile page. This is the mandatory route for anyone with digital immigration status — including holders of expired BRPs and BRCs who have been moved to an eVisa.

Route 3 — Registered Right to Rent DVSP. For British and Irish citizens, you can use a certified Digital Verification Service Provider listed on the government's register instead of a manual passport check. The DVSP handles the identity verification digitally. This route was formalised under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and the October 2026 Code. It is optional — a manual check still works.

Route 4 — Landlord Checking Service (LCS). When the applicant cannot demonstrate their status through acceptable documents or the online service cannot confirm it — for example, an outstanding application or appeal requiring Home Office verification, an asylum case requiring confirmation, or a status not yet reflected online — you submit a request to the LCS. It normally responds within two working days with a yes or no. A Positive Right to Rent Notice gives you a statutory excuse for 12 months. If the LCS has not considered the request within two working days, it sends an automatic response allowing you to let, with a statutory excuse for 12 months. A Negative Right to Rent Notice means the applicant does not have the right to rent. A submission confirmation alone is not approval.

The Check Step by Step

Before entering into the tenancy agreement — or, in the limited circumstances allowed by the guidance, before occupation begins — complete these steps for every adult who will live in the property as their main or only home. That includes named tenants, their partners, adult children, and any other occupier aged 18 or over. It includes lodgers too, though the penalty scale is lower (£5,000 first breach vs £10,000 for a tenant).

1. Determine the route. Ask for the applicant's nationality and what documents they have. British or Irish with a passport: Route 1 (manual) or Route 3 (DVSP). Non-British/Irish with digital immigration status: Route 2 (share code). No acceptable documents, or an online check that cannot confirm a pending or otherwise unresolved status: Route 4 (LCS).

2. Run the check. Follow the procedure for the relevant route. For manual checks, verify the original document in the person's presence, match the photo to the person, and check the document has not expired (except where the Code permits an expired British or Irish passport). For share codes, ensure the code starts with 'R' — codes starting with 'W' (Right to Work) or 'S' (general Status) will not work on the Right to Rent portal.

3. Record the result. For manual checks: take a clear copy (scan or photo) of every relevant page — the passport biographical page, any pages with visa stamps, and both sides of any other card accepted as List A or List B evidence. Write the date of the check on the copy. For online checks: save or print the profile page. For LCS: store the Home Office response.

4. Store the records. Keep copies for the duration of the tenancy plus one year. After that retention period, destroy them securely. UK GDPR requires you not to retain personal immigration documents longer than necessary.

5. Schedule follow-ups. If the applicant's right to rent is time-limited, you must conduct a follow-up check before the statutory excuse expires. The Home Office online result gives the follow-up date. For List B documents, the eligibility period ends on the latest of one year from the check, the expiry of the person's immigration permission, or the expiry of the relevant Home Office document. If the tenant has made an in-time application but cannot provide a share code or the online service cannot confirm their status, submit a Landlord Checking Service request.

What Agents Actually Do vs What You Think They Do

Many landlords hire a tenant-find agent partly because they assume the agent handles right to rent compliance. In many cases, the agent does run the check as part of the referencing process. But there is an important legal distinction under the October 2026 Code of Practice.

Statutory liability for a right to rent civil penalty sits with the landlord by default. It only transfers to the agent if there is a specific, dated written agreement where the agent expressly accepts responsibility for conducting the checks under Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014. A general tenant-finding agreement — even one that mentions "referencing" or "compliance checks" — may not meet this threshold.

Before deciding whether to run checks yourself or rely on an agent, check the actual wording of your agreement. If it does not explicitly transfer right to rent liability, you are on the hook regardless of what the agent did or did not do.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Under the Code of Practice effective 1 October 2026, the civil penalty for a first breach is £10,000 per occupier (£5,000 per lodger). A repeat breach within three years doubles to £20,000 per occupier (£10,000 per lodger). For a first-breach penalty, the Faster Payment Option reduces the amount by 30% if paid within 21 calendar days of the Civil Penalty Notice or Objection Outcome Notice; it is not available where the Home Office has allowed instalments. This brings a £10,000 occupier penalty to £7,000.

These are civil penalties issued by the Home Office, not court fines. You receive a referral notice, then a civil penalty notice, with 28 days to object to the Home Office and a further right of appeal to the County Court.

A correctly completed prescribed check, or a positive LCS response, establishes a statutory excuse. That excuse protects you from a civil penalty while it remains valid, provided you complete any required follow-up checks and reports. The check does not need to be perfect; it needs to be prescribed. The Right to Rent Checks in England guide includes the full verification decision map and audit-ready record templates that make this systematic.

Who This Is For

• Self-managing landlords in England who want to run checks themselves without paying an agent
• Accidental landlords letting a former home or inherited property for the first time
• Landlords using a let-only agent who want to understand whether their agreement actually transfers compliance liability
• HMO landlords who need to check multiple adult occupiers per property

Who This Is NOT For

• Landlords who use a full-management agent with a written agreement that transfers right to rent statutory liability
• Landlords in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland — right to rent does not apply outside England
• Portfolio investors who prefer to outsource compliance entirely to a management company

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a right to rent check take?

For a British citizen with a valid passport, the manual check takes about 10 minutes — inspect the document, match the photo, copy the relevant pages, write the date, file it. An online share code check takes about the same once the applicant has generated the code. The first time you do it, budget 30 minutes to read through the process and set up your record-keeping system. After that, it becomes routine.

What if the applicant sends me a share code that does not work?

The most common reason is that the code is the wrong type. Right to Rent codes start with 'R'. If the applicant has generated a Right to Work code (starting with 'W') or a general Status code (starting with 'S'), it will not work on the Right to Rent verification portal. Ask the applicant to generate a new code specifically for right to rent via the GOV.UK share code service.

Do I need to check a British citizen's right to rent?

Yes. You must check every adult occupier aged 18 or over, regardless of nationality. For British citizens with a valid passport, the check is straightforward — a manual document inspection or a DVSP digital check. The law requires you to apply the same checking process to everyone to comply with the Equality Act and the Discrimination Code of Practice. You cannot selectively check only tenants who appear to be non-British.

Can I do the check over video call?

Yes, for manual document checks. The October 2026 Code of Practice permits identity verification via live video call, provided you are in physical possession of the original document while the applicant presents it on the call and you can see the person clearly enough to confirm identity. Make a clear copy of the document pages for your records. This is particularly useful for landlords managing a property remotely.

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