Right to rent check
What it really means
By law in England, landlords must check that every adult tenant is allowed to live in the UK before the tenancy starts. You show your passport and visa, or a government share code. The official process is on GOV.UK.
Context, tips & common mistakes
This check applies to tenancies in England only — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not run the scheme — and the landlord or agent cannot charge you for it. If you have a biometric residence card, eVisa or settled status, you generate a share code through the government online service and the landlord checks it against your date of birth; British and Irish citizens can simply show a passport. Every adult who will live in the property must be checked, not just the person signing, and landlords are supposed to check everyone rather than only people who 'seem foreign' — selective checking is discrimination and can be reported. Do the check before your current permission expires if you are renewing a visa, and keep evidence of any Home Office application, because landlords can accept a pending application via the official checking service. Never hand over your original passport for a landlord to 'keep on file'.