Amendment to Right to Rent Checks - Covid-19

The Home Office has announced that Right to Rent checks can be completed without meeting tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of the 30th March 2020:

> checks can now be carried out over video calls

> tenants can send scanned documents or a photo of documents for checks using email or a mobile app, rather than sending originals

> landlords should use the Landlord’s Checking Service if a prospective or existing tenant cannot provide any of the existing documents

Instructions for completing right to rent checks provided by the Home Office are as follows:

> Ask the tenant to submit a scanned copy or a photo of their original documents via email or using a mobile app.

> Arrange a video call with the tenant – ask them to hold up the original documents to the camera and check them against the digital copy of the documents.

> Record the date you made the check and mark it as “an adjusted check has been undertaken on due to COVID-19”.

For the full details of the announcement click here.