England right-to-rent checks changed on 1 October 2026: what international renters need

England’s right-to-rent rules changed on 1 October 2026. Landlords and letting agents must now follow updated Home Office guidance when checking adult occupiers, including new rules for digital verification providers, more use of eVisas and revised lists of acceptable documents. The scheme applies to residential tenancies in England, not Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

For international renters, the practical point is simple: prepare the evidence that matches your immigration status before the tenancy starts, and expect the landlord to check every adult who will use the property as their only or main home. For landlords and agents, using the prescribed process and keeping the required records creates a statutory excuse against a civil penalty if an occupier is later found not to have the right to rent.

What changed on 1 October 2026?

The Home Office landlord guide identifies several significant changes:

• Where a digital verification service provider is used for a right-to-rent check, the provider must be registered for that purpose.
• The role of digital verification providers has been expanded and clarified, including the technology and checks they may use.
• The lists of acceptable documents now include some digital documents that a landlord can verify.
• The guidance reflects the move away from visa vignettes from 1 July 2026 and the increased use of eVisas.
• The section for EEA citizens and their family members has been reorganised, with clearer routes to the online service, Certificates of Application and the Landlord Checking Service.
• The separate annex for Ukrainian nationals has been removed because the standard checking framework now applies consistently across nationalities.

The updated codes of practice came into force on the same date. The Home Office also issued an updated code on avoiding unlawful discrimination. A landlord should check every adult occupier in the same way required by the scheme, rather than making assumptions from a person’s name, accent or nationality.

Who must be checked?

A check is required for every person aged 18 or over who will occupy the property as their only or main home. This applies even when an adult is not named on the tenancy agreement, and whether the agreement is written, oral or implied.

British and Irish citizens have an unlimited right to rent. Irish citizens may prove this through an acceptable document, and eligible Irish citizens who hold digital immigration evidence may choose to use the online route. People with settled status, the right of abode or indefinite permission also have an unlimited right to rent.

People with time-limited immigration permission normally use either the Home Office online right-to-rent service or an acceptable document. Where the online result says that a follow-up check is required, it will give the relevant date.

How do eVisa holders prove the right to rent?

An eVisa is a digital record of immigration permission held in a UK Visas and Immigration account. An eVisa holder normally generates a share code, which the landlord uses with the person’s date of birth in the Home Office online service. The share code is valid for 90 days.

A screenshot of an account or another immigration-status portal is not a substitute for the prescribed Home Office check. The official guide says no other online portal may be used in place of the Home Office right-to-rent service.

Expired biometric residence permits are no longer acceptable for a manual check. BRPs stopped being issued on 31 October 2024 as the system moved to eVisas. Visa vignettes have not generally been issued as evidence of immigration permission since 1 July 2026, although a still-valid short-validity vignette may be usable in the limited circumstances described in the guidance.

What evidence can eligible visitors use?

Visitors from an EEA country, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or the United States may enter through an eGate and receive no passport stamp. Where such a visitor does not hold an eVisa, the guidance allows a landlord to check the passport together with evidence showing arrival in the UK within the previous six months.

Acceptable arrival evidence may include a boarding pass, transport ticket or booking confirmation for air, rail or sea travel. A check made on this basis gives the landlord a statutory excuse for 12 months from the date of the check. This does not extend the visitor’s immigration permission.

When must checks and follow-up checks happen?

The initial check must be completed before the adult begins occupying the property. For a person with a time-limited right to rent, the prescribed check must be carried out no earlier than 28 calendar days before the tenancy agreement is entered into.

A follow-up check is required before a time-limited statutory excuse expires. The expiry may be linked to the date shown by the online service, the validity of an acceptable document or the 12-month period attached to a Home Office notice or eligible visitor check.

If an occupier cannot provide the required evidence, the landlord may need to request a check from the Home Office Landlord Checking Service. If the person later cannot demonstrate a continued right to rent, the landlord must follow the reporting process in the guidance to preserve the statutory excuse.

What records should landlords keep?

Landlords should retain a clear record of the check and the date it was completed for the whole tenancy and for at least one year after it ends. If an agent accepts responsibility for initial or follow-up checks, that transfer should be set out in writing.

Adding a new adult occupier can also matter. The guidance treats a varied tenancy that grants occupation to one or more new adults as a new agreement, requiring checks on all adult occupiers, including those already living there.

What should an international renter do before applying?

1. Confirm whether the property is in England, where the scheme applies.
2. Check that your UKVI account and passport details are current if you hold an eVisa.
3. Generate a fresh share code close enough to the check for it to remain valid.
4. If you are an eligible visitor without an eVisa or passport stamp, keep dated evidence of your journey to the UK.
5. Tell the landlord if you have a pending Home Office application or Certificate of Application so that the correct official route can be used.
6. Ask the landlord or agent to follow the Home Office process for every adult occupier and not request unnecessary documents based on nationality.

The rules are detailed, and individual immigration circumstances can differ. This article is a practical overview, not legal advice. Renters, landlords and agents should use the current Home Office guide and codes of practice for the prescribed check.

Official sources: Home Office landlord guide, 1 October 2026; right-to-rent codes of practice; UK digital verification trust-framework supporting documents. Sources checked 2 October 2026.

Featured image: Terraced houses in Bounds Green Road, Wood Green, London. Image © Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Displayed at a reduced resolution; no editorial alterations.