For renters
What is a Right to Rent share code and how do you get one?
A Right to Rent share code is a short code you generate for free on GOV.UK. It lets a landlord confirm online that you are allowed to rent a home in England, without you handing over piles of paperwork. It lasts 90 days, and you can use the same code as many times as you need before it expires.
Who needs a Right to Rent share code?
Share codes are for people whose immigration status is held digitally. According to GOV.UK, if you are not a British or Irish citizen you can prove your right to rent with either a share code or your original immigration documents.
British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code at all. This surprises people, because the phrase is used so loosely. GOV.UK is explicit that a British or Irish citizen proves their right to rent with a passport, and the passport can be current or expired. An Irish passport card works too, as does a certificate of registration or naturalisation.
There is one more group. If you have the right of abode and hold a digital certificate of entitlement, you can get a share code. If your certificate of entitlement is a vignette sticker in your passport, you cannot, though you can apply for a digital one.
Which document proves what
| Your situation | What proves your right to rent | Share code? |
|---|---|---|
| British or Irish citizen | Passport, current or expired. Irish passport card. Certificate of registration or naturalisation | Not available |
| Settled or pre-settled status | Share code, or original immigration documents | Yes |
| eVisa holder | Share code, or original immigration documents | Yes |
| Biometric residence permit (BRP) | Share code, or the permit itself | Yes. GOV.UK says a BRP can be used for 18 months after the expiry date printed on the card |
| Right of abode, digital certificate of entitlement | Share code | Yes |
| Right of abode, vignette sticker in passport | The certificate itself | Not from the sticker. A digital certificate can be applied for |
If you are arranging a home before you move to England, our guide to what you need to rent in England when moving from abroad covers the share code alongside deposits, up-front costs and documents.
Can a landlord insist on a share code?
No, and this is the part most guides leave out. GOV.UK states it plainly: you can choose which option you use, and your landlord cannot reject your application because you gave them an eligible immigration document instead of a share code.
The check itself is not optional for the landlord, and it is not personal. GOV.UK tells landlords they must check every tenant aged 18 or over before a new tenancy starts, even if that person is not named on the tenancy agreement, even if there is no written agreement at all. It also tells them, in terms, that it is against the law to check only the people they think are not British citizens.
How do you get a Right to Rent share code?
- Go to the GOV.UK service called Get a share code online. It is free and works on a phone.
- Sign in with your UK Visas and Immigration account, or with your biometric residence permit. You will have a UKVI account if you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme, used the UK Immigration: ID Check app, or created one when applying for a visa or an eVisa.
- Choose to prove your right to rent. Share codes are purpose specific, so a code made for renting only works for renting. A code made to prove your right to work will not do.
- Send the code to the landlord along with your date of birth, which they need to look it up.
No fee, no appointment, no documents in the post. If your details have changed, GOV.UK asks you to update your UKVI account before generating the code, for instance after a change of name or nationality.
How long does a share code last?
Ninety days. GOV.UK confirms you can use the same code as many times as you need before it expires, and get a new one whenever you need one. So a single code will usually see you through a whole search, and if it runs out during a long one, another costs nothing.
What happens on the landlord's side?
They enter your code and your date of birth into the GOV.UK checking service, see a confirmation of your status, and keep a record of the result. GOV.UK opens that service to the landlord, to an agent acting on the landlord's behalf, and to a tenant who is subletting without the landlord's permission.
You will not see your own eVisa handed over, and neither will they. GOV.UK says the person using your share code sees some of your personal details, and you are told what those are at the moment you generate the code.
Timing matters on their side too. Where someone has limited leave to remain, GOV.UK tells landlords to carry out the check in the 28 days before the tenancy begins. That is why a request can arrive quite late in the process and still be perfectly normal. If you would like the fuller picture, we have a plain-English guide to how Right to Rent works for tenants in England.
When is no check needed at all?
The duty does not apply everywhere. GOV.UK lists accommodation where a landlord does not need to carry out a Right to Rent check, including social housing, a care home, hospice or hospital, a hostel or refuge, a mobile home, and student accommodation. It also excludes accommodation provided by a local authority, accommodation provided as part of a job, and any lease of seven years or longer.
Three things people get wrong
- Assuming a British passport holder needs one. They cannot get one. If a letting agent asks a British citizen for a share code, the request is misplaced, and GOV.UK sets out the documents that apply instead.
- Using a code generated for the wrong purpose. Right to work and right to rent codes are not interchangeable, and a landlord looking one up will simply see it fail.
- Paying for it. There is nothing to pay. The GOV.UK service is free, and in England the Tenant Fees Act 2019 means landlords and agents cannot charge tenants for a Right to Rent check.
Sort it once, then stop repeating yourself
House-hunting means sending the same code, the same explanation and the same details to one landlord after another. A renter profile takes that repetition away: you set out your renting information once and keep it up to date in one place. Building a renter profile is not charged for.
One thing to be clear about: the Right to Rent check itself is always carried out by the landlord or agent, because that is who the law places the duty on. VEYLO X does not carry it out, does not decide its outcome, and does not make judgements about anyone. It keeps records that people read and act on themselves.
Sources
The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts. How we write these guides.