Right to Rent Pending Visa Application and Section 3C Leave

A prospective tenant says their visa application is with the Home Office and they cannot generate a share code. This is one of the most common stalling points for landlords — and the one where the Landlord Checking Service exists to help.

What Section 3C Leave Means

Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 automatically extends a person's existing immigration permission when they make an in-time application to extend their stay before their current leave expires. The extension lasts until the Home Office decides the new application (including any appeal or administrative review).

During Section 3C leave, the person's existing immigration permission and its conditions continue. If the existing permission allows renting, that right continues while the application is pending. But the GOV.UK online system may not reflect the pending extension — the original permission may show as expired, and no new share code can be generated until a decision is made.

This creates a verification gap that the standard checking routes cannot fill.

How to Verify: The Landlord Checking Service

When a tenant has a pending Home Office application and cannot produce acceptable documents or a valid share code, the landlord submits an online enquiry to the Landlord Checking Service through GOV.UK.

The landlord needs:

• The tenant's full name and date of birth
• Their nationality and home address
• A Home Office reference number — this could be an Application Registration Card (ARC) number, a case reference, an appeal reference, or a unique application ID
• The tenant's explicit consent to the enquiry

The Home Office aims to respond within two working days (excluding weekends and English bank holidays). The response is one of two outcomes:

• Positive Right to Rent Notice (PRRN): Confirms the person has the right to rent. Establishes a statutory excuse for exactly 12 months from the date on the notice.
• Negative Right to Rent Notice: Confirms the person does not have the right to rent. The landlord cannot grant occupation.

What the Landlord Cannot Do While Waiting

Submitting the LCS request does not grant a temporary right to rent. The landlord must wait for the official Positive Right to Rent Notice before the tenant moves in or signs a tenancy agreement.

If the LCS takes longer than two working days, the application remains pending — there is no automatic approval after a set period. The landlord can chase progress through the Landlords' Helpline on 0300 790 6268.

Granting occupation based on an LCS submission confirmation alone — without the actual Positive Right to Rent Notice — does not create a statutory excuse. If the eventual response is negative, the landlord is exposed to a civil penalty.

Certificate of Application (CoA) Cases

Some applicants hold a Certificate of Application — typically issued under the EU Settlement Scheme for late or complex applications. A CoA confirms that the Home Office has received an application but does not confirm the outcome.

A CoA on its own does not confirm a right to rent. Where the application requires Home Office confirmation, the landlord must submit an LCS enquiry. If the Home Office issues a Positive Right to Rent Notice, occupation can proceed.

Held Documents

When the Home Office physically holds a person's original documents as part of an ongoing case — for example, a passport retained during an asylum application — the tenant cannot present those documents for a manual check and may not be able to generate a standard share code.

This is another mandatory LCS trigger. The landlord submits the enquiry using whatever reference numbers the tenant has (ARC number, case ID), and the Home Office confirms the person's right to rent status.

Follow-Up Obligations

A Positive Right to Rent Notice from the LCS creates a 12-month statutory excuse — regardless of the underlying visa processing time. When the 12 months approaches expiry, the landlord must run a follow-up check:

• If the tenant has received a decision and been granted leave, they can now generate a standard share code for re-verification.
• If the application is still pending, the landlord submits another LCS enquiry for a fresh Positive Right to Rent Notice.

This cycle continues until the Home Office makes a final decision on the tenant's case.

Navigating the Process

The Right to Rent Checks in England guide includes the complete LCS submission workflow, explains the Section 3C leave mechanism, and provides the record retention coversheet for tracking PRRN dates and follow-up deadlines. It covers every scenario where the standard verification routes cannot be used and the LCS becomes the mandatory path.

See more England guides →