You must check that a tenant or lodger can legally rent your residential property in England.
Before the start of a new tenancy, you must check all tenants aged 18 and over, even if:
- they’re not named on the tenancy agreement
- there’s no tenancy agreement
- the tenancy agreement isn’t in writing
Check all new tenants. It’s against the law to only check people you think aren’t British citizens.
If the tenant is only allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time, you need to do the check in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy.
You don’t need to check tenants in these types of accommodation:
- social housing
- a care home, hospice or hospital
- a hostel or refuge
- a mobile home
- student accommodation
You also don’t need to check tenants if they live in accommodation that:
- is provided by a local authority
- is provided as part of their job (known as ‘tied accommodation’)
- has a lease that’s 7 years or longer
Read the code of practice to find out if you need to do any other checks instead.