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What’s changing / Right to rent checks: the updated code from 1 October 2026

What’s changing · 1 October 2026

Right to rent checks: the updated code from 1 October 2026

A new Home Office code for right to rent checks took effect on 1 October 2026. It mainly changes digital checks. The fines are the same.

Checked against the law 12 October 2026.

In force

This is the law now.

For: Every private landlord in England, including those with lodgers and tenants who sublet

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What's changing

On 1 October 2026, a new Home Office code of practice for right to rent checks came into force. It replaces the version that had applied since February 2024.

The basic rule hasn't changed. You must not let a home to an adult who doesn't have the right to rent (Immigration Act 2014, s.22). Checking properly before you sign or agree the tenancy protects you from a fine. Check every adult who will live there as their main home, whether or not they're named on the agreement.

Most of the changes are about digital checks. Some landlords pay a company to check identity documents online. That company must now be on the government's register of digital checking services, and be approved there for right to rent checks. If you use face-matching technology at all, it must come from a registered company. When it's used, keep copies of the images and the company's confirmation for at least one year after the tenancy ends. The code also adds more digital versions of documents that you can accept.

You don't have to use a company. You can still check the original documents yourself, while the person is with you or on a live video call. For a video call, you must have the original documents in your hands first, for example posted to you. Seeing them held up to the camera isn't enough.

Or you can use the Home Office online check, with a share code the tenant gives you. Someone with an eVisa, which is an online record of their immigration status, can only prove their right to rent this way. If the online service isn't working for them, you can ask the Home Office's Landlord Checking Service instead.

A second code, on avoiding discrimination during checks, also took effect on the same date. Check everyone, not only people you think may not be British.

The fines

The fines haven't changed. If an adult without the right to rent is living in a home you let and you didn't check properly, the Home Office can fine you £10,000 for each such person. It's £5,000 if they're a lodger who lives with you. If it happens again within three years, it's £20,000 for each person, or £10,000 for each lodger (Immigration Act 2014, s.23, and the code of practice).

It can also be a criminal offence to let a home, or carry on letting it, to an adult you know, or have good reason to believe, has no right to rent (Immigration Act 2014, s.33A).

Who it affects

Every private landlord in England. That includes you if you take in a lodger or sublet. If a letting agent has agreed in writing to do the checks for you, the responsibility moves to them. Some homes are left out, such as social housing and student accommodation.

When

The new code took effect on 1 October 2026 (Statutory Instrument 2026/700, reg 4). A check you made before then is judged against the code that applied when you made it. You don't need to redo it. Any follow-up check that falls due from 1 October 2026 follows the new code.

What to do

For each new tenancy, check every adult before the tenancy is agreed. That's usually when you sign, not when they move in. If someone's right to stay is time-limited, do the check no more than 28 days before you sign or agree the tenancy. Then check again before their permission runs out, or within 12 months of your last check if that's later. If the tenancy changes and a new adult moves in, check all the adults again, not just the new one.

If the follow-up check shows they no longer have the right to rent, report it to the Home Office straight away. That keeps you protected from the fine. Carrying on letting to them can still be a criminal offence, though, so it's worth getting legal advice about ending the tenancy. The Home Office guide explains your options.

Keep a dated copy of each check for the whole tenancy and for one year after it ends. If you use a company for digital checks, you must also get its confirmation that it's registered for right to rent checks, and keep that with the check.

GOV.UK's Landlord's guide to right to rent checks takes you through each step and lists the documents you can accept.

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Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll check it. This is general information, not legal advice.