New Right to Rent rules came into force today, 1st October 2026, affecting landlords and letting agents across England.
This is a Home Office update to the Right to Rent scheme, with some important changes to how digital checks can be carried out.
The basic responsibility hasn't changed. Landlords still need to check every adult who will occupy a rental property as their only or main home, regardless of their nationality.
What's changed is mainly how digital Right to Rent checks work, alongside updated guidance, document lists and codes of practice.
What changed to Right to Rent on 1st October 2026?
One of the biggest changes affects landlords and agents using a Digital Verification Service Provider (DVSP).
From today, if you use a digital provider to carry out a prescribed digital Right to Rent check, the provider must be appropriately registered and authorised for Right to Rent checks.
Simply using an online identity verification or referencing service doesn't automatically mean you've completed a legally compliant Right to Rent check.
The acceptable document guidance has also been updated to reflect more digital documentation, while new Home Office codes covering civil penalties and avoiding discrimination are now in force.
How can landlords carry out a Right to Rent check?
There are still three main routes available.
Manual document check: Check acceptable original documents from the relevant Home Office document lists and follow the prescribed process.
Home Office online check: Where applicable, the tenant provides a share code and you complete the check using the official Home Office service.
Digital Right to Rent check: For eligible documents, you can use a properly registered digital verification service provider.
Digital checks remain optional. Landlords shouldn't insist that every applicant proves their Right to Rent digitally.
What about tenants with an eVisa?
If an applicant has an eVisa or eligible immigration status held digitally, they can provide a share code so you can check their Right to Rent using the Home Office online service.
Simply looking at the immigration status displayed on the tenant's own phone or laptop isn't the prescribed check. You need to complete the check properly and make sure the photograph shown by the Home Office matches the person you're renting to.
Do British tenants still need a Right to Rent check?
Yes. Right to Rent checks aren't something you only carry out when somebody appears to be from overseas.
You need to check all prospective adult occupiers who fall within the scheme, regardless of nationality. Applying checks selectively can also create a discrimination risk.
What about tenants with a time-limited Right to Rent?
Some tenants have an unlimited Right to Rent, while others have permission for a limited period.
Where somebody has a time-limited Right to Rent, you may need to carry out a follow-up check before your statutory excuse expires. If a follow-up is required, that date needs to be recorded and actually acted on.
What should Nottingham landlords do now?
If you manage your own properties, I'd check how you're currently carrying out Right to Rent checks, particularly if you use a referencing or digital identity provider.
If a third party is completing digital checks for you, confirm that the service they're using meets the new requirements from 1st October 2026.
I'd also make sure you're retaining evidence of completed checks and have a system for monitoring any required follow-ups and if your letting agent is responsible for Right to Rent, make sure that responsibility is clearly agreed in writing, including who is responsible for any necessary follow-up checks.
Don't confuse uploading ID with completing a Right to Rent check
Having a copy of somebody's passport or immigration document uploaded to your property management system doesn't necessarily mean a compliant Right to Rent check has been completed.
The correct prescribed process, identity match and record keeping still matter. For portfolio landlords, I'd want to be able to look at every tenancy and clearly establish:
Who was checked, how they were checked, when the check was completed and whether a follow-up is required.
That's a much stronger system than simply having an ID document sitting in a folder.
Right to Rent checks for Nottingham landlords
At Amhurst Lettings, we manage single lets, HMOs and residential property portfolios across Nottinghamshire, including tenant referencing and the compliance processes that sit behind a new tenancy.
Changes like today's are exactly why we keep reviewing our processes rather than assuming that something we've always done is still the correct way of doing it.
For landlords managing several properties, keeping up with the rules is increasingly becoming a job in itself. Our job is to make sure those details aren't being missed.
