Right to Rent Checks: Birmingham Landlord Guide

Every adult aged 18 or over who will occupy as their main home must be checked:

• The named tenant on the tenancy agreement
• Any other adult who will live there
• Lodgers in your own home
• Consented subtenants

The duty applies regardless of nationality. British and Irish nationals must be checked too; the difference is which check route to use.

Three routes:

• Manual check. See the original document in the tenant's presence, take a copy, sign and date it.
• Online check via share code. Tenant provides a share code from their UKVI account; verify at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent.
• IDVT (Identity Document Validation Technology). Use an approved Identity Service Provider to verify a British or Irish passport remotely.

Birmingham's large student population (University of Birmingham, Aston, BCU, UCB) means international student checks are routine:

• Student visa holders: online share-code check at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent; diary the follow-up for visa expiry
• EU citizens with pre-settled or settled status: online share-code check
• Tier 4 / Student visas typically run for the course duration plus four months
• Many student tenancies fall to one or two adult occupants under 18 still in education; check the cohort year-by-year

For student HMOs with multiple international occupants, run the check for each named occupier separately and store evidence in each file.

If any occupier holds time-limited leave, schedule a follow-up before either:

• The expiry date of their immigration leave, or
• 12 months from the initial check, whichever is later

If the follow-up shows no continuing right to rent, report to the Home Office promptly and take steps to end the tenancy. The statutory excuse then protects you from civil penalty.

Per-occupier civil penalties from 2024:

• First breach: up to £5,000 per lodger, up to £10,000 per occupier
• Repeat breach: up to £10,000 per lodger, up to £20,000 per occupier
• Knowing or reckless breach: criminal offence, unlimited fine, up to five years' imprisonment

The statutory excuse applies where the check was correctly carried out and the evidence retained. A partial check does not qualify.

Practical sequence:

1. At application: collect nationality, immigration status route, and document types from every adult occupier
2. Run the right check route for each occupier
3. Save the timestamped evidence to the tenant's file before signing the tenancy
4. Diary follow-up checks for any time-limited leave
5. Repeat the check before the diary date
6. Retain records for the duration of the tenancy plus at least one year

For HMOs and shared houses, run the process every time the occupants change, not just when the lead tenant changes.