Renting in England and Right to Rent Checks

This guide is for internationals who have just arrived in England and plan to rent from a private landlord or letting agent. After reading it, you will understand how Right to Rent checks work, which documents landlords can accept, what happened to the How to Rent guide on 1 May 2026 and how deposit protection works.

• Right to Rent checks: an England-only rule
• Documents that prove your right to rent
• Which type of tenancy you have
• The How to Rent guide after 1 May 2026
• Holding deposits and deposit protection
• FAQ

Right to Rent checks: an England-only rule

Before you can rent in England, you need to prove your right to rent to your landlord. This comes from the GOV.UK page on proving your right to rent in England, which also states that you do not need to prove your right to rent in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

How you prove it depends on your nationality and your immigration status. The next section sets out the documents for each group.

If you are not a British or Irish citizen and cannot prove your right to rent, your landlord can ask for a Home Office right to rent check to see whether you can rent in England. The official page does not say how long this check takes. Commonwealth citizens may be able to get documents showing that they can rent in the UK through the Windrush Scheme.

Documents that prove your right to rent

British and Irish citizens can prove their right to rent in England by showing the landlord 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

Someone without any of these may be able to use other documents. Some landlords offer an online identity service provider (IDSP), which can be used instead of handing over documents for the landlord to check.

People who are not British or Irish citizens can prove their right to rent in England with either a share code, which is obtained online, or their original immigration documents. The tenant chooses. A landlord cannot reject an application because the applicant gave an eligible immigration document instead of a share code.

People with the right of abode, which covers British citizens and some Commonwealth citizens, can use a certificate of entitlement if they have one. This can be a vignette sticker in a passport or a digital certificate in a UKVI account. A digital certificate is shared with a share code obtained online.

Whether a particular visa or status gives someone the right to rent is an immigration question. For a specific immigration question, the right source is an adviser regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Which type of tenancy you have

GOV.UK’s guide to private renting explains that your tenancy type decides the rules before and during the tenancy and how it can be ended. The most common type is an assured periodic tenancy (APT). The tenancy deposit protection page confirms that APTs replaced assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026.

A tenancy is an APT if all of these apply: the property is your main accommodation, your landlord does not live there, and you have your own room, even if you share a bathroom or kitchen with other tenants.

A tenancy is not an APT if, for example:

• your landlord lives in the same accommodation or is a local council
• it is purpose-built student accommodation for university students and the landlord has signed up to the National Code of practice
• it has a fixed term of over 21 years
• the rent is more than £100,000 a year, or less than £250 a year (less than £1,000 in London)
• it is a business tenancy, a tenancy of licensed premises or a holiday let

If you live with your landlord and share rooms such as a kitchen or bathroom, you may have an excluded tenancy or licence, which usually gives less protection from eviction. Tenancies that started before 15 January 1989 may be regulated, with increased protection from eviction and the option to apply for a “fair rent”. GOV.UK points anyone unsure of their tenancy type to Shelter’s tenancy checker.

The How to Rent guide after 1 May 2026

The government’s How to rent: the checklist for renting in England was written for tenants and landlords in the private rented sector. It applies to England and helped both sides understand their rights and responsibilities before 1 May 2026.

The guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 because of changes from the Renters’ Rights Act, and GOV.UK states that it is not up to date. It has been kept only for tenancies where the landlord served a notice for possession under section 21 before 1 May 2026. For current information, GOV.UK points readers to its guidance on assured periodic tenancies.

Holding deposits and deposit protection

A holding deposit is money paid to “hold” a property before an agreement is signed. The landlord does not have to protect it. Once you become a tenant, the holding deposit becomes a deposit, and the landlord must then protect it.

If you rent your home on an APT, your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme (TDP). The landlord or letting agent must do this within 30 days of getting it. In England and Wales, deposits can be registered with:

• Deposit Protection Service
• MyDeposits, including deposits that were held by Capita
• Tenancy Deposit Scheme

The schemes make sure you get your deposit back if you meet the terms of your tenancy agreement, do not damage the property, and pay your rent and bills. The landlord must use a scheme even when someone else pays the deposit, such as a rent deposit scheme or your parents.

At the end of the tenancy, the landlord must return the deposit within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you will get back. If there is a dispute, the deposit stays protected in the scheme until the issue is sorted out.

If you do not rent on an APT, the landlord can accept valuable items, such as a car or a watch, as a deposit instead of money. A scheme does not protect those items. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate TDP schemes. The official page does not set a maximum deposit amount.

FAQ

Is there a Right to Rent check in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

No. GOV.UK states that you do not need to prove your right to rent in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The requirement applies only to renting in England.

Can a landlord in England insist on a share code?

No. If you are not a British or Irish citizen, you can choose between a share code and your original immigration documents. A landlord cannot reject your application because you gave an eligible immigration document instead of a share code.

Does a holding deposit have to be protected?

No. Once you become a tenant, it becomes a deposit. On an APT, the landlord or letting agent must then put it in an approved scheme within 30 days of getting it.

Is the How to Rent guide still in use?

It was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and is not up to date. GOV.UK keeps it only for tenancies where a section 21 notice was served before 1 May 2026. For current information, it points to its guidance on assured periodic tenancies.

Official sources: gov.uk · gov.uk · gov.uk · gov.uk

Last verified: 26 September 2026 against the official pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the official page always wins.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Immigration advice in the UK may only be given by advisers regulated by the OISC or by solicitors regulated by the SRA.