Right to Rent FAQs
From 1st February 2016, landlords and letting agents in England are required to check the immigration status of all adult tenants before the start of a new tenancy to determine whether they have the right to live in the UK legally.
We've improved our reports to help our landlords and letting agent customers remain compliant with the new legislation. Our Full Profile service will establish if a tenant has a permanent or time limited right to rent and advise you of the steps you must take to remain compliant.
What do I need to do?
Under the new regulations, from 1st February 2016, letting agents or landlords must check original documentation of anyone who applies to rent a property. The checks must be carried out on all potential adult occupiers of the property and must be made before the tenants move in.
There are 4 basic steps to ensure compliance:
» Establish who will be living in the property
» Obtain original versions of the acceptable documents for all adult occupiers
» Check the documents in the presence of the holder
» Make copies of the documents, date them and keep them safe
Who has a right to rent in the UK?
British citizens, European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss nationals are permitted to live in the UK and have an unlimited right to rent.
The EEA countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
Nationals of other countries may also have permission to live in the UK either for a limited time or permanently. In most cases they will have a biometric residence permit or visa indicating that they may stay in the UK for a limited period or permanently.
What documents are acceptable?
There are two lists of acceptable documents.
List A contains documents which are acceptable from those who have a permanent right to rent in the UK. In most cases this will be a passport or national identity card but there are other possibilities and document combinations.
List B contains documents which are acceptable from those who have a time limited right to reside in the UK. In most cases, this will be a biometric residence permit or visa. Follow up checks are required if a document from List B is presented.
How long should I keep the copy documents for?
All copies of documents taken should be kept for the duration of the tenancy agreement and for at least one year thereafter.
Do I need to conduct follow-up checks?
There is no need to carry out any follow-up checks for tenants that have a permanent right to rent.
You must carry out follow up checks on all tenants that have a time-limited right to rent a property. The follow-up check should be carried out up to 28 days before the expiry of the initial 12 month period or at the end of their permitted stay in the UK (whichever is longer).
If you have uploaded a visa or residence permit with an expiry date to your user account we will send you a reminder email when you need to carry out the follow-up check.
What support do I have?
We have a dedicated client support team on hand to answer any questions you may have about Right to Rent or any other referencing queries.
Alan Boswell Referencing Services
Miners Way, Lakesview Business Park, Canterbury CT3 4LQ
Tel: 01603 340153 Fax: 01603 340154