Right to Rent Check

[Topcat875]

Hi, I am a USA citizen who has worked and resided continuously in the UK for over 30 years. I was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK in 1993 and have a visa/vignette in my expired passport to prove this which has always allowed me to leave and re-enter the UK for business and leisure trips without fail by carrying both my current and expired USA passports and showing both of these to immigration when re-entering the UK. I now however have an urgent issue where I need to be able to prove my right to rent and have found that this method doesn't satisfy the required criteria. I contacted the Home Office to try and find a way forward to prove my Right to Rent and unfortunately the only advice that they could give me was to apply for a BRP which I have now done however the expected time frame to receive this is up to 6 months and I have an urgent need to rent a new place to live. I am currently unable to find any helpful information on how else I can prove my Right to Rent so any advice from anyone who may have also found themselves in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[alterhase58]

You may already have looked at this guide on gov.uk - https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent
Strangely enough this still states that a vignette in a passport could be used. There's no indication when this was last updated.
Perhaps you have one of the other documents, show a print of the guide to the landlord or agent.

[Topcat875]

Hi and thank you very much for your reply. Unfortunately I have already tried this with two letting's agents and both have refused to accept my visa/vignette as this is contained in an expired passport even though I have shown them the information from the link that you provided. I am unfortunately finding contradictory information all over the place including on the .gov websites where in some instances it states that a visa/vignette from an expired passport can be used to prove Right to Rent and in others it states that it can not be used so understandably the letting agents are going to follow the advice which they believe will best protect themselves. Thanks again for your reply.

[manci]

I contacted the Home Office to try and find a way forward to prove my Right to Rent and unfortunately the only advice that they could give me was to apply for a BRP which I have now done

You contacted an outsourced commercial enquiry service, not the HO, and they frequently provide incorrect advice. BRPs can no longer be used as evidence of the right to rent and they will be phased out at the end of next year in any case.

As stated in the document for which @alterhouse58 provided the link, the ILR stamp in your expired passport should be sufficient to prove your right to rent

[manci]

contradictory information all over the place including on the .gov websites where in some instances it states that a visa/vignette from an expired passport can be used to prove Right to Rent and in others it states that it can not be used

do you have the link to the gov website where it states that the ILR stamp in your expired passport can not be used as evidence of the right to rent?

[Topcat875]

Hi and thank you very much for your replies.

When reading information contained in the following .gov link under the heading of Using Immigration Documents it would appear that the visa/vignette in my expired passport would meet the Right to Rent requirements as I have ILR status in my expired passport from 1993.

https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent/ ... -documents

However when following the link below which is to a .pdf document called: Right to Rent Checks - A User Guide for Tenants and Landlords which is from the same .gov site it states on page 11 that the document being used should be a current passport or travel document.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... R_2022.pdf

Thanks again for your help.

[manci]

a .pdf document called: Right to Rent Checks - A User Guide for Tenants and Landlords which is from the same .gov site it states on page 11 that the document being used should be a current passport or travel document.

it also states on the same page:

the document should contain an expiry date but can be accepted if this date has
lapsed

On the practical side, if you are dealing with a chain of estate agents suggest to refer the issue to Head Office / top management. You clearly have the right to rent according to the current guidance linked in @alterhase58's post above

[Topcat875]

Hi and thanks for your advice. Based on this I will make further enquiries with the lettings agents and request that they escalate this to upper management to see what their response is.

[secret.simon]

You may already have looked at this guide on gov.uk - https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent
Strangely enough this still states that a vignette in a passport could be used. There's no indication when this was last updated.

I don't see that information on the link.

To the OP, there is a distinction to be made between the "right to rent" and the ability to prove so to a landlord.

The landlord would need either two of the following documents or a current travel document/passport with ILR or other leave to remain endorsed in it. The link provided by @alterhase58 links to this Gov.UK page that the document "usually needs to be current. It can only be expired if it’s a passport with a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in it."

Also see this much more detailed Right to rent checks: a guide to immigration documents for tenants and landlords, which is what the landlord agent will likely be referring to.

As an aside, ILR vignettes ceased to be valid options for proving the right to work and the right to rent years (at least five and probably more) ago.

[manci]

Also see this much more detailed Right to rent checks: a guide to immigration documents for tenants and landlords, which is what the landlord agent will likely be referring to.

Quote from the Right to rent checks: a guide to immigration documents for tenants and landlords document you referenced:

I have a passport, but it has expired. How can I satisfy a right to rent check?

If you have an unlimited right to rent in the UK (i.e. you are a British or Irish citizen) you can use an expired passport to prove your right to rent. Also, if you have indefinite leave to remain in an expired passport you can also use this to prove your right to rent.

[Topcat875]

Thanks again Manci and Secret Simon for your help and advice which is very much appreciated. I will return to the letting agents armed with the information that you have provided and hopefully this will help to guide them.