A Right to Rent share code is fast becoming the standard way that many tenants prove they are allowed to rent a home in England — and if you are a landlord or letting agent, knowing how it works is now an essential part of your compliance process. As the Home Office moves to a fully digital immigration system, a growing number of your applicants will hand you a code rather than a passport or a plastic card. This guide explains what a Right to Rent share code is, why your tenants may need one, how they generate it, and how to check it correctly so that you keep your statutory excuse.
A Right to Rent share code is a unique, time-limited code that a tenant generates through the official ‘Prove your right to rent in England’ service on GOV.UK. It links to that person’s immigration record held by the Home Office. The tenant gives the code to their landlord or letting agent, who then uses it to view the person’s status online and confirm whether they are allowed to rent — and, if so, for how long.
The code itself is a nine-character alphanumeric string, and Right to Rent codes always begin with the letter “R”. It is free to generate and is valid for 90 days from the date it is created. Importantly, the code does not, on its own, grant anyone the right to rent. It simply gives you secure, real-time access to the Home Office result, which shows the person’s photo, name, immigration status and any time limit on their permission.
Right to Rent checks are a legal requirement for every landlord in England under the Immigration Act 2014. Before a tenancy begins, you must confirm that every adult who will live in the property as their main home has the right to rent — even those not named on the tenancy agreement. For many tenants, a Right to Rent share code is now the only valid way to do that.
The reason is the Home Office’s shift to digital immigration status. Physical biometric residence permits (BRPs) have been phased out and replaced by online eVisas, accessed through a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. Where a person’s status is held digitally — which now applies to most non-UK and non-Irish nationals, including those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme — the law requires their right to rent to be proven through the online service using a share code. A plastic card on its own is no longer acceptable evidence, and you cannot establish a statutory excuse by relying on it.
In practical terms, this means your tenant needs a share code so that you can complete a compliant check. Without a valid code (or acceptable original documents, where the tenant is entitled to use them), you cannot finish the check, and you should pause the tenancy rather than proceed and risk a penalty.
British and Irish citizens cannot get a Right to Rent share code. They prove their right to rent using acceptable original documents, such as a valid passport, or via a certified Identity Service Provider (IDSP) using identity document validation technology. If a British or Irish applicant offers you a code, it is not a Right to Rent code — you will need to check their documents instead.
Non-UK and non-Irish nationals whose status is digital will typically need a share code. This includes EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with status under the EU Settlement Scheme, and most people granted a visa under the UK’s digital immigration system.
There is one important fairness point to keep in mind. Some tenants still hold acceptable physical documents and are entitled to use them — for example, certain people with indefinite leave to remain. You cannot reject a tenant simply because they chose to prove their status with an eligible document rather than a share code; doing so risks unlawful discrimination. Equally, you must not insist on physical documents from someone whose status is digital, because for them the online check is the only valid route. The safe approach is to apply the same fair, consistent process to every applicant. You can find the full list of acceptable documents in the Home Office’s guide to right to rent document checks.
It helps to be able to talk your applicants through the process, as a smooth share code makes for a faster tenancy. To generate a Right to Rent share code, a tenant should:
A common pitfall is leaving this to the last minute. If a tenant has trouble accessing their UKVI account or their details are out of date, it can hold up the whole tenancy — so it is worth asking for the code early in the process.
Checking a Right to Rent share code is a prescribed legal process, not just a quick look at a website. To establish a statutory excuse, you must use the official ‘View a tenant’s right to rent in England’ service on GOV.UK and follow these steps:
Carrying out the check correctly and keeping the record gives you a statutory excuse — a complete defence against a civil penalty if the tenant later turns out to be disqualified. Skip a step, and that protection falls away.
If the online result shows your tenant has a time-limited right to rent, your statutory excuse is also time-limited. You must carry out a follow-up check before the earlier of the date their permission expires, or 12 months from your previous check. At that point the tenant will usually need to generate a fresh Right to Rent share code, as the original will have long since passed its 90-day validity.
If a follow-up check shows the tenant no longer has the right to rent, you must report this to the Home Office to maintain your position. Diarising the expiry date and the follow-up date at the time of the original check is the simplest way to stay on top of this.
The penalties for renting to someone without the right to rent rose sharply on 13 February 2024 and are now significant. Under the Home Office’s Right to Rent code of practice, a landlord without a statutory excuse can face:
Because these fines are charged per person rather than per property, the costs add up quickly. A correctly checked share code, properly recorded, is your protection. You can read more in our guide to Right to Rent and the rising costs of non-compliance.
Most share code issues are not about eligibility — they are about timing and accuracy. The usual culprits are:
Where a tenant genuinely cannot prove their status online — for example, because they have an outstanding application or appeal — you can use the Home Office Landlord Checking Service to request a decision. Never refuse a tenant outright over a technical glitch, as that can amount to discrimination.
Share codes are purpose-specific, and it is easy for tenants to generate the wrong one. A right to work share code (used by employers) is created through a different GOV.UK service and will not return a result on the Right to Rent checker. If a code does not work, the most likely explanation is that the tenant used the right to work service by mistake. Asking them to confirm the code starts with “R” is a quick way to catch this.
The Right to Rent scheme — and therefore the Right to Rent share code — applies only in England. There is no requirement to carry out Right to Rent checks for property in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, although separate identity and tenancy rules apply in those nations. It is also worth noting that Right to Rent sits under the Immigration Act 2014 and is entirely separate from the Renters’ Rights Act 2026. The Renters’ Rights Act changes how tenancies work, but it does not remove your Right to Rent obligations — both regimes apply at the same time.
Keeping on top of share codes, follow-up dates and record-keeping across a portfolio is exactly the kind of admin that LetHQ is built to remove. Our Digital Right to Rent Checks use UK Government certified Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) to verify British and Irish tenants in minutes, while our platform helps you manage the online checks and evidence you need for digital-status tenants — all in one place.
You can also bring together full tenant referencing and Digital ID checks, so you can verify, reference and comply before you hand over the keys. To find out more, get in touch with our team or call 0343 612 2233 today.
A Right to Rent share code is valid for 90 days from the date the tenant generates it. You can use it more than once within that window. If it has expired, ask the tenant to generate a new one.
No. British and Irish citizens cannot generate a Right to Rent share code. They prove their right to rent using acceptable original documents, such as a passport, or through a certified Identity Service Provider.
No. If a tenant is entitled to prove their status with an acceptable document, you cannot reject them for choosing that route over a share code — doing so risks unlawful discrimination. Apply the same fair process to every applicant.
You need the tenant’s nine-character share code and their date of birth. You enter both into the ‘View a tenant’s right to rent in England’ service on GOV.UK, then confirm the photo and details match the person.
They are generated through different GOV.UK services and are not interchangeable. A right to work code (used by employers) will not return a result on the Right to Rent checker. Right to Rent codes begin with the letter “R”.
No. The Right to Rent scheme applies only in England. You do not need to carry out Right to Rent checks for property in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
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