Propertymark has urged the Home Office to simplify draft Right to Rent guidance, warning that the proposed code is too complex for routine lettings work and could leave landlords and agents exposed to costly mistakes.
The trade body said its response to the government’s consultation on a new code of practice for avoiding unlawful discrimination shows the current draft still reads too much like landlord-facing policy guidance rather than a practical compliance tool for agents who carry out checks every day. Fines can reach £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and £20,000 for repeat breaches.
For landlords, the immediate issue is not a new legal duty but the risk that unclear guidance leaves agents and self-managing owners making the wrong call on follow-up checks, expired permissions and record-keeping just as compliance standards across the private rented sector are tightening.
Propertymark says agents need clearer steps
In its consultation response to the Home Office, Propertymark said agents need plain guidance on which type of Right to Rent check is required, when repeat checks are needed and when to contact the Landlord Checking Service.
The body also wants shorter quick-reference material, decision trees, flowcharts and stronger case studies covering shared houses, students with time-limited visas and households where adult occupiers have different immigration statuses. Its argument is simple: rules designed to prevent discrimination will be harder to apply consistently if the official guidance is too dense for day-to-day use.
That matters because many landlords rely on agents to handle the front end of tenancy setup. If the legal position on liability and record-keeping is not set out clearly, the room for confusion sits with both parties. A landlord may assume the agent owns the full process, while an agent may be working from guidance that still frames obligations mainly around landlords themselves.
Landlords who manage their own properties also face a practical problem. The more complicated the official process becomes, the easier it is to miss a follow-up date or fail to keep the right evidence. Landlord Knowledge’s Right to Rent guide already sets out how checks work in principle, but Propertymark’s latest intervention suggests the operational detail still needs work.
Compliance pressure is building across the PRS
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on the late-2026 rollout of the PRS database and ombudsman, which highlighted how ministers are building a more document-heavy enforcement system around the private rented sector. The latest dispute over Right to Rent guidance adds another example of how compliance is becoming more procedural, more visible and less forgiving of admin errors.
A sharper draft code would not remove the duty to carry out checks properly, but it could reduce the chance of avoidable mistakes. For landlords, that is the real point. The risk is not just the fine itself. It is also the disruption that follows if a tenancy is started on the wrong footing or if records cannot be produced later.
The Home Office consultation is focused on avoiding unlawful discrimination while keeping immigration checks in place. Propertymark is not asking for the scheme to be dropped. Instead, it wants guidance that reflects how the market actually operates, especially where agents handle tenant sourcing, referencing, move-ins and ongoing tenancy administration on a landlord’s behalf.
That is a reasonable warning for ministers to take seriously. If the government wants better compliance, the guidance has to work in real offices and real tenancies, not just on paper.
What this means for landlords
- If you use an agent: check in writing who is responsible for Right to Rent checks, repeat checks and document storage.
- If you self-manage: review your process now so visa expiry dates, follow-up checks and evidence files are not handled informally.
- Watch for: any revised Home Office code, quick-reference checklists or clearer rules on liability between landlords and agents.
- Bottom line: unclear guidance does not reduce penalties, so landlords still need a clean, documented checking process.
Editor’s view
Propertymark is right on the basic point. Compliance rules that only make sense after a long read do not help landlords or tenants much in practice. If ministers want fewer mistakes and fewer discrimination risks, the guidance needs to be shorter, clearer and harder to misread.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 19 June 2026
Sources: Propertymark, Home Office
Related reading: Right to Rent Guide for landlords
