News from 1 July 2026
Read the current guide to tenancy rules in England.
Updated Right to Rent material for England sets out changes connected with the October 2026 code. It covers fair checks and the treatment of different ways applicants can prove their right to rent.
What the code covers
Right to Rent checks apply to residential landlords in England. The Home Office says landlords must carry out prescribed checks before letting a property, and the code explains whether a property is affected, whether exemptions apply, how checks should be carried out, what documents may be shown, when a Home Office check may be needed, how the civil penalty scheme works, and how landlords can avoid unlawful discrimination.
For many small landlords, the practical issue is not remembering that checks exist. It is making sure the process is current, consistent and recorded. A landlord who uses an old saved checklist, relies on informal messages, or assumes an agent has handled everything may miss a change in the accepted process or fail to keep evidence in the right way.
The discrimination code also matters. Right to Rent checks should be applied in a fair and consistent way. Landlords should avoid using appearance, accent, nationality, name or assumptions about immigration status as a reason to treat one applicant differently from another.
Why October matters
The 1 October 2026 date gives landlords time to update their process before the new codes are in force. That preparation window is useful because Right to Rent checks often sit across several parts of the letting journey: advertising, applicant enquiries, referencing, viewing arrangements, document checks, agent instructions and stored tenancy records.
If a letting agent handles checks, landlords should still know what is being done on their behalf. It is sensible to ask whether the agent has reviewed the 1 October code, whether staff guidance will be updated, and what evidence the landlord will receive once a check has been completed.
Self-managing landlords should check the official Home Office material directly rather than relying on screenshots, old PDFs or advice copied between forums. GOV.UK also points landlords to the online service for checking whether a tenant or lodger can legally rent a residential property, and to the broader collection of Right to Rent guidance.
