The Landlord Checking Service (LCS)

When to use it

The Landlords’ guide lists situations where you ask the Home Office to check, including when the tenant:

• has an outstanding application, administrative review or appeal (made before their previous permission ended);
• has a Certificate of Application that says an LCS check is needed;
• is an asylum seeker or has a pending asylum appeal;
• has been granted Permission to Rent;
• can’t access their eVisa, or it contains an error that hasn’t been fixed.

Ask the tenant for their Home Office reference number before you start.

How it works

1. Fill in the online form on the Landlord Checking Service.
2. The Home Office normally replies within two working days.
3. If it hasn’t replied within two working days, you’ll get an automatic response saying you can let the property. That gives you a statutory excuse for 12 months.

The response

• Positive Right to Rent Notice: gives you a statutory excuse for 12 months from the date specified on the notice. Do a follow-up check before then.
• Negative Right to Rent Notice: the person doesn’t have the right to rent. Letting to them exposes you to a penalty. Follow the official guidance on next steps.

What to keep

Keep your request confirmation and the Home Office response for the tenancy plus at least one year. The guide says any LCS response must be kept to maintain your statutory excuse.

Record it

Our process log has a Landlord Checking Service route. Enter the date on the notice and it calculates the follow-up date (the notice date plus 12 months) and gives you a printable record.