Most landlords meet right to rent the same way: a prospective tenant sends over a string of letters and numbers, and suddenly you are expected to know what to do with it. That string is a share code, and it has quietly become the default way to prove who can legally rent a home in England.
This guide works backwards from the moment that code lands in your inbox. What it is, how to turn it into a result that actually protects you, and the handful of mistakes that turn a five minute task into a five figure fine.
The short answer
A #171717]">share code is a nine character code a tenant generates on GOV.UK to prove their immigration status. You enter it, plus their date of birth, into the [free Home Office checker. Done correctly, the check gives you a statutory excuse, which is legal protection against penalties if that tenant's status later goes wrong. Skip it or fumble it, and the fines reach £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for a repeat one.
The check applies in England only. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have no equivalent duty.
Why this exists at all
The duty comes from the Immigration Act 2014. The idea is simple: before anyone moves in, the landlord confirms they have permission to be in the UK. The law puts the burden of proof on the tenant and the burden of checking on you.
What is easy to forget is that the obligation does not stop at the people who sign the tenancy. It covers every adult who will live there, aged 18 or over, with your knowledge. A partner who moves in three weeks later still counts.
Not everyone uses a share code
Before we get into reading codes, it helps to know who actually hands you one, because a big chunk of tenants never will.
British and Irish citizens have an automatic, unlimited right to rent and cannot generate a code at all. They prove status with documents you can see and hold: a current or expired British or Irish passport, or a UK birth certificate paired with other official government-issued documentation (for example, correspondence from HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions). A National Insurance number on its own is not sufficient proof of the right to rent.
Everyone else falls into the share code world: EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals with settled or pre settled status, visa holders with digital status, and anyone whose status is now held digitally as an eVisa, which replaced physical biometric residence permits at the end of 2024. Even then, the tenant gets to choose. If they would rather show physical documents than a code, that is their right, and you have to accept eligible ones.
A useful instinct: never refuse an applicant or pile on extra hurdles because their check looks more complicated. That tips straight into discrimination, which carries its own liability under the Equality Act 2010.
Anatomy of a share code
A right to rent share code has a few defining traits worth committing to memory.
It is nine characters and starts with "R". That "R" matters. Tenants can also generate codes to prove the right to work, and those are useless for a tenancy check. If the code in front of you does not begin with R, send it back.
It lasts 90 days. Inside that window you can run it as many times as you like. Outside it, the code is dead and the tenant needs a fresh one. Long application processes are where this trips people up, so check the code is still live before you rely on it.
And on its own, it proves nothing. The code is just a key. The result you pull from the Home Office system is the thing that counts.
Getting a code: what to tell your tenant
The generating side is the tenant's job, but knowing how it works saves you a week of back and forth. Your tenant goes to gov.uk and searches 'prove your right to rent', signs in to their UKVI account, and selects renting as the reason for the check. The service issues their nine character code on the spot, free of charge. Two things worth telling applicants up front: generate the code when it is actually needed rather than weeks in advance, since the 90 day clock starts immediately, and make sure they pick the renting option, because a code generated to prove the right to work starts with a different letter and will not return a result on the rent checker. If an applicant cannot generate a code at all, that usually means their status is not held digitally or their application is still with the Home Office, and the documents route or the Landlord Checking Service covers those cases.
Running the check
You will need two things from the tenant: the code and their date of birth. Then go to the official checker at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent. It is free, and you do not need an account.
What comes back is a screen showing the tenant's photo, their details, whether they have the right to rent, and whether that right is unlimited or has an end date.
Here is where the actual work is, because the screen does not protect you, what you do with it does:
The part people forget: follow-up checks
A tenant with time limited permission is not a problem. A tenant with time limited permission and no diarised follow up is.
The result page tells you when the next check is due. Before that date, you run the check again. If they still have the right to rent, you carry on with a fresh statutory excuse. If they no longer do, you report it to the Home Office, and that report is what keeps you protected.
You can absolutely sign a tenancy that runs past someone's current permission. The risk is never the dates on the agreement. It is the reminder you meant to set and didn't.
When there is no code
For British and Irish tenants, and anyone who prefers documents, the process moves offline:
If a document is unclear or you're unable to verify it confidently, you can use the Home Office Landlord Checking Service (details available on GOV.UK) to confirm a person's immigration status. It's there specifically to help with cases where standard checks aren't straightforward.
What it costs to get wrong
The fines jumped sharply in February 2024 and still apply in 2026. Crucially, they are charged per person, so a shared house multiplies the damage fast.
| Breach | Per lodger | Per occupier |
|---|---|---|
| First breach | Up to £5,000 | Up to £10,000 |
| Repeat breach (within 3 years) | Up to £10,000 | Up to £20,000 |
Beyond the civil penalty, a landlord who knowingly lets to someone with no right to rent can face criminal prosecution, up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine.
And running a check is no guarantee on its own. You can still be penalised if you checked the named tenant but not their adult partner, accepted a document that was not on the approved list, kept no records, or let a follow up date sail past. If a penalty does land, you can object, request a review, and ultimately appeal to the county court, but prevention is cheaper than every one of those steps.
A workflow that holds up
The whole thing becomes routine once it is a sequence rather than a scramble:
Steps five and six are where most fines are actually born, not in the check itself but in the record keeping after it. Holding share code results, document scans, and follow up reminders in one place, next to your gas safety and deposit deadlines, is what stops a forgotten date becoming a penalty. That single-view tracking is the kind of thing Propell is built to handle, whether you let one flat or run a portfolio.
Common questions
Does a short let under three months need a check? Yes. There is no general exemption just because a tenancy is short-term.
Can I run the check before the tenant gives me a code? No. The code and date of birth are both required. No code means physical documents instead.
The code has expired, now what? It cannot be used. The tenant regenerates one on GOV.UK and it is valid for another 90 days.
Is a right to work code the same thing? No. Right to rent codes start with "R" and only work for tenancies. Right to work uses a separate code.
How long do records need to live? At least one year after the tenancy ends, for both code results and document copies.
The takeaway
Share codes made right to rent faster, but they did not make it forgiving. The five minutes you spend matching a photo, noting an expiry, and saving the result is what stands between you and a penalty that now reaches £20,000 per occupier. Treat it as a small, repeatable routine rather than a one off hurdle, and it stops being something to worry about.
*This article is a general guide and not legal advice. Seek advice from a qualified professional for your circumstances. Penalty figures reflect Home Office rates in force as of 2026.*
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