Right to rent checks during the coronavirus pandemic
a.hughes • April 3, 2020
New guidance released on carrying out right to rent checks
The right to rent checks have been temporarily relaxed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It remains an offence to knowingly lease premises to a person who is not lawfully in the UK. Normally landlords/agents should obtain and check all adults’ original acceptable documents to ensure they have a right to rent in the UK before letting the property. It should then be verified in the presence of the holder to verify the document is genuine. However temporary changes have been made to ensure that the social distancing guidelines are adhered to, to prevent the spread of the virus.
As of 30 March 2020 the following temporary changes have been made:
- checks can now be carried out over video calls
- tenants can send scanned documents or a photo of documents for checks using email or a mobile app, rather than sending originals
If a prospective or existing tenant cannot provide any of the existing documents the Landlord’s Checking Service should be used. A response will be received within 2 days and a copy of the response must be retained.
To carry out a right to rent check during the temporary measures landlords or agents will need to:
- Ask the tenant to submit a scanned copy or a photo of their original documents via email or using a mobile app.
- Arrange a video call with the tenant – ask them to hold up the original documents to the camera and check them against the digital copy of the documents.
- Record the date you made the check and mark it as “an adjusted check has been undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19”.
When these measures are lifted retrospective checks must be carried out on tenants who started their tenancy during this period, or on tenants who require a follow-up check during this period. Notification will be provided when the measures are lifted.
The check must be marked “the individual’s tenancy agreement commenced on [insert date]. The prescribed right to rent check was undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19.”
The retrospective check must be carried out within 8 weeks of the COVID-19 measures ending. Both checks should be kept for your records.
The Government’s guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-landlord-right-to-rent-check
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