New Right to Rent changes coming into effect for EU Citizens from 1st July – be ready with Go Tenant!

The government has announced the final details of the Right to Rent changes coming into effect from July 1st when EU citizens will no longer have an automatic right to rent a home in the UK.

As a reminder, it's the responsibility of every landlord to check a tenants Right to Rent in England.

For British citizens, this remains the same as before via original documentation as described on the Government website.

However, be aware, the temporary Covid measures that allowed you to accept scanned documents or carry out checks via a video call come to an end on 20th June.

From then on, checks need to be carried out in person. This can be recorded on the Right to Rent form on Go Tenant.

Moving forward, Citizens from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who have successfully applied to the EU Settlement Scheme or for a UK visa will need to use the government's new "View and Prove" online service to share their right to rent status with landlords and letting agents.

The Government has released the following information to help you adhere to the new process:

  1. Ask your tenant to log into the View and Prove service and then click 'prove your status'.

  2. The tenant will then need to select the reason they want to share their status - to prove their right to rent - and will be shown a preview of the information that will be shared with the landlord or letting agent.

  3. The tenant then clicks 'create share code', which will supply a share code which will be valid for 30 days.

  4. The tenant will need to provide this share code, along with their date of birth, to the landlord or letting agent. They can email this to the letting agent directly through the View and Prove service, printing the screen, writing down the code or telling them the code.

  5. The landlord or letting agent can then enter the tenant's share code and date of birth at the government's view a tenant's right to rent portal and confirm the tenant has the right to rent.

There may be some circumstances where a person cannot currently create a UK Visa and Immigration account, including those who were given, or continue to hold, a physical document, for example a biometric residence card (BRC) or biometric residence permit (BRP). However, they can use the online right to rent check service to generate a share code, which can also be used by other international residents in England to prove their right to rent.

The government's guidance notes that "in the future, everyone will be able to register for a UKVI account which will also allow them to access the View and Prove service", with details to follow "in due course".

The Government announcement has only recently been made so we are looking to update our process shortly to make sure our customers are all kept safe and compliant.

We will update you when it is live and outline exactly what's required!