How to carry out Right to Work and Rent Checks from 6 April 2022

The Home Office have updated the existing guidance on Right to Work and Right to Rent checks on 16 and 17 December 2021. The changes mainly deal with EEA citizens and non-EEA family members without lawful status after 30 June 2021.  

The Home Office also announced changes as to how employers and landlords undertake checks on Biometric Residence Card (BRC) holders, Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) holders and Frontier Worker Permit (FWP) holders from 6 April 2021. 

As a reminder, temporary adjustments to Right to Work (RTW) and Right to Rent (RTR) checks are due to end on 5 April 2022. Employers and Landlords are not required to undertake retrospective checks on employees and new tenants who joined between 30 March 2020 and 5 April 2022. Employers and Landlords will maintain a statutory excuse against any civil penalty if the initial checks were undertaken in line with the guidance that applied at the time the check was made. 

Some positive takeaways:

1. The Home Office mentions in the guidance that they have received positive feedback on the ability to conduct RTW and RTR checks remotely. As a result, the Home Office are considering a technological solution which is highly secure to allow employers and landlords to carry out checks remotely. 

2. From 6 April 2022, BRC, BRP and FWP holders will evidence their RTW or RTR using the Home Office online service only. Physical cards will no longer be acceptable for the purposes of RTW and/or RTR even if the card shows a later expiry date. The manual checklist which does serve a useful reference sheet, will not have BRCs, BRPs and FWPs listed as acceptable documents. This simplifies the process and provides certainty for employers and landlords when carrying out the RTW and RTR checks.