How agents can prepare for right to rent changes

A series of major changes in right to rent have already occurred and more are heading towards the market, bringing with them serious legal implications for agents, landlords and tenants.

Two significant changes to right to rent checks come into force in the coming months. From September 2022, legislation will change to allow landlords and letting agents outsource right to rent checks to Identity Service Providers (IDSPs). IDSPs will then digitally check the identity and eligibility of British and Irish citizens to rent a property in England.

From April, landlords and letting agents will no longer be allowed to carry out manual right to rent checks on applicants who have a Biometric Residence Card or are permit holders. Instead, they must use the Home Office's online service, which was introduced in December 2020.

The Government has also recently announced that the end date for the temporary adjusted checks due to Covid-19 has been deferred until 30 September 2022 to allow for the new systems to come into place. This means that right to rent checks for suitable applicants can continue to take place over a video call using scanned or photographed versions of their identification documents until this date.