What is the Right to Rent?
The Immigration Act 2014 introduced the Right to Rent to the UK. Before you are permitted to rent in England, you must prove your right to rent to your landlord/letting agent.
How you prove your right to rent depends on your nationality and your immigration status.
If you’re a British or Irish citizen
If you’re a British or Irish citizen, you can prove your right to rent in England by showing your landlord/agent one of the following:
- a British passport (current or expired)
- an Irish passport or passport card (current or expired)
- a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen
If you do not have a passport, passport card or citizenship certificate, you may be able to use other documents to prove your right to rent, which can be found here:
If you’re not a British or Irish citizen
If you’re not a British or Irish citizen, you can prove your right to rent in England with:
- a share code - you can apply for a share code online
- your original immigration documents
If you cannot use a share code or immigration documents, you may be able to use other documents to prove your right to rent.
You can choose which option you use.
If you cannot prove your right to rent
If you’re not a British or Irish citizen, your letting agent can ask for a Home Office right to rent check to see if you can rent in England.
If you’re a Commonwealth citizen, you may be able to get documents to show that you can rent in the UK through the Windrush Scheme.
