DBS Checks for Estate Agents

A Right to Rent Check requires lettings and rental agents in England to ensure that tenants who occupy the properties in their care have legal status to live in the UK. Before renting a home in England, lettings and rental agents must complete ID checks prior to letting the property.

As a lettings agent or rental agent, you must undertake a Right To Rent check on all prospective tenants over the age of 18, regardless of whether they have their name on the tenancy or not.

As a prospective tenant over the age of 18, whether named on the tenancy or not, you must expect to be requested to submit to a tenancy check.

Valid documents for submission in a Right To Rent check (depending on nationality):

UK, EEA or a Swiss citizen – 

A valid passport

A valid EEA/Swiss national ID card

A valid UK driving license and original UK birth certificate (British citizens only)

Other nationalities – 

A combination of a passport, a valid visa or a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

Yes, if you’re subletting the property you rent, it is your responsibility to carry out a Right to Rent check and gather evidence of their Right To Rent before they move occupier in. Failure to do so leaves you accountable for any enforcement action or fines. If requesting your landlord to carry out a Right To Rent checks on your behalf, please agree in writing and retain a copy as proof.

If you are a British or Irish citizen, you have unlimited Right to Rent in the UK. This does not exclude these people from having to go through a Right to Rent check.  

If British or Irish citizens seek rented accommodation in England from a private landlord, they will still have to prove their residency or immigration status. This is called having the ‘Right to Rent’. This affects all new lettings including tenancies, licences, lodging arrangements and sub-lets.  

If you’re a British, you can prove your Right to Rent in England by showing your landlord a British passport. It can be a current passport, but an expired passport will also be accepted. If you do not hold a passport, you can provide a valid UK driving licence and a UK birth certificate.  

If you are an Irish citizen, you can also use your passport or passport card. Just like British citizens, for Irish citizens this can be an expired passport.   

Other accepted documents for an Irish citizen are a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.  

Children under the age of 18 are exempt from Right to Rent checks but landlords are allowed to verify the age of the person claiming to be under 18.   

Also, you can be exempt from Right to Rent checks if you are staying in the certain types of accommodation such as: 

• Holiday accommodation of less than three months.  
• Housing provided by local authorities through homelessness or allocations procedures (including most housing association homes)  
• Care homes  
• Hostels or refuges  
• Homeless accommodation provided by the local    
• Home Office accommodation for migrants  

A share code is a 9-character code generated through the Home Office online service. This code is valid for 90 days and can be used multiple times within that period. Renters can provide this share code, along with their date of birth, to prospective agents or landlords for the Right to Rent check.  

How to Generate Your Share Code:  

Follow these steps to generate your share code and provide it to your agent or landlord.  

Step 1:  

Visit the Home Office online service and review the provided information.  

If you have all the necessary documents, click “Start now” under the ‘Prove your Right to Rent online’ section.  

Step 2:  

In this step, you will:  

• Provide information about your immigration status.  
• Enter details of your evidence, such as your biometric residence card number.  
• Provide your date of birth.  

Step 3:  

Select the reason for sharing your status. In this case, choose “to prove your Right to Rent.”  

A preview of the information to be shared with the agent or landlord will be displayed.  

Step 4:  

Click “Create share code” to generate your unique 9-character code.  

You can then enter this code into your Rent Passport under the Right to Rent section (if requested).  

By following these steps, renters can efficiently generate a share code to demonstrate their Right to Rent in the UK to prospective agents or landlords.  

Potential Fines for Landlords Regarding Right to Rent:  

Landlords in the UK could face significant fines, potentially reaching as high as £20,000, for their failure to ensure that their tenants and lodgers possess the legal Right to Rent in the country.  

Increased Fines for Landlords Dealing with Illegal Immigrants:  

In cases where landlords engage with illegal immigrants as tenants, the fines are set to escalate significantly. For a first breach, the fines will rise from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier to a range of up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier.  

In the case of repeat breaches, the fines will further increase, potentially reaching up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier. This marks a substantial hike from the previous fines of £500 and £3,000, respectively.  

Imprisonment as a Potential Consequence:  

It’s important to note that, in addition to fines, landlords can also face the possibility of imprisonment if they fail to adhere to the requirement of verifying the Right to Rent status of their occupiers.