Right to Rent: how-to

Step-by-step instructions for every right to rent task. For what each option means, see Right to Rent; for problems, see Right to Rent: troubleshooting.

Find your task

If you’re here because…	Go to
You’ve checked a tenant’s documents and want to record it	Record a right to rent check
You have an Add Right to Rent Documents Action	Record a right to rent check, or Record that a check isn’t required
You want applicants to upload their proof during onboarding	Collect right to rent proof during onboarding
An applicant has submitted an application form with right to rent proof	Verify proof from an application form
A record says Awaiting or “Check not completed yet.”	Validate an awaiting check
You have a Right to Rent Follow Up Required Action	Record a follow-up check
A document says “This document was not checked in person.”	Mark a document as checked in person
The share code or document is wrong	Correct a share code or document
A record was added by mistake	Remove a check
The tenant doesn’t need a check (for example, the property is in Scotland)	Record that a check isn’t required
You need to show who checked a tenant, and when	Find past checks and who did them
You need copies of the documents	Download right to rent documents
You don’t use COHO for right to rent at a property	Turn Right to Rent on or off for a property

Record a right to rent check

Do this when you’ve checked a tenant’s right to rent and want to keep the record in COHO.

Before you start: you need the “Record right to rent checks” permission. Have copies of the documents ready to upload (photos or scans), and the share code if the tenant isn’t a British or Irish citizen.

1. Open the room page and make sure you’re looking at the right tenancy. Use Switch under the header if needed.
2. On the Right to Rent panel, click Show panel content, then Add new proof. (From an Action, or the add button in the Right to Rent box on an onboarding page, the form opens with the tenant already chosen.)
3. Choose the Tenant, if it isn’t filled in.
4. At Is a check required?, choose Yes.
5. At Is the tenant a British or Irish citizen?, choose Yes or No.
6. Check the Date checked. It’s today by default.
7. Under Document 1:
   • enter the Share code (shown if you chose No above);
   • enter the document’s Expiration date, or tick Valid forever;
   • answer Has the document passed a formal check?;
   • add any Notes;
   • upload the document under Files;
   • click Save document.
8. To add another document, click Another document and repeat step 7.
9. Choose the Status: Accepted with unlimited stay, or Accepted with limited stay.
10. For limited stay, enter the Follow up check date.
11. Click Save.

What happens next: the check appears on the panel as the tenant’s current check. Any Add Right to Rent Documents Action for that tenant clears. For limited stay, COHO raises a Right to Rent Follow Up Required Action 30 days before the follow-up date.

Tip

Every document must be saved with Save document before you can click Save. If you change a saved document, save it again.

Record that a check isn’t required

Use this for a tenant who doesn’t need a right to rent check, for example a property in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, an exempt property type, or a tenant under 18. It also clears the Add Right to Rent Documents Action for that tenant.

1. On the room’s Right to Rent panel, click Add new proof (or open the Action).
2. Choose the Tenant.
3. At Is a check required?, choose No.
4. Choose a Reason: Other, Exempt property type or Tenant under age.
5. Click Save.

What happens next: the panel shows “Check set as not required.” with the reason, and the Action clears.

Tip

If none of a property’s tenancies need checks, turn the service Off for that property instead. See Turn Right to Rent on or off for a property.

Collect right to rent proof during onboarding

Do this once, so applicants upload their right to rent proof as part of their application form.

1. On the Onboarding panel, click the settings cog to open Onboarding Settings.
2. Under Onboarding application forms, create a form (or a new version of one).
3. Tick Collect Right To Rent Proof, and save the form.
4. Choose this form when you start an onboarding (Set application form? > Yes).

What happens next: the applicant’s application form has a Right to Rent Proof step. When they submit it, COHO creates a right to rent record with the status Awaiting, holding their share code, expiry date and files. You then verify it (see below).

Note

Viewing (pre-qualification) forms can’t collect right to rent proof. That step is skipped until onboarding.

Verify proof from an application form

Do this when an applicant has submitted an application form that collects right to rent proof. You’ll see an Action to review the form.

Before you start: you need edit permission for Onboarding and the “Record right to rent checks” permission. Check the applicant’s documents and share code yourself, following the GOV.UK guidance.

1. Open the onboarding (View) and go to the Application form step.
2. Click Review, and read the answers, including Right To Rent Proof (type, Expiration, Share code and files).
3. Under Verify Right To Rent Proof, choose Verify proof now.
4. Tick Document checked in person if you’ve seen the original documents.
5. Choose the Status. For Accepted with limited stay, enter the Follow up check date.
6. Under How would you like to proceed?, choose Accept, then click Submit.

What happens next: the application form is accepted and the right to rent record shows as accepted, dated today.

If you’re not ready to verify the proof yet, choose Leave it for later at step 3. The form is still accepted, and the record stays Awaiting until you validate it.

If the proof is wrong, choose Request More Info, write a Message to applicant, and click Submit. If you also choose Verify proof now, the proof is marked Failed; when the applicant resubmits the form, it goes back to Awaiting and you can verify it again.

Validate an awaiting check

Do this when a record shows Status: Awaiting and “Check not completed yet.”, usually because the applicant uploaded it and you chose Leave it for later.

1. Open the room’s Right to Rent panel (or the Right to Rent box on the onboarding page).
2. Click Validate on the record.
3. Look at the documents shown under Verify Right To Rent Proof.
4. Check the Date checked.
5. Choose the Status. For Accepted with limited stay, enter the Follow up check date.
6. Tick Document checked in person if you’ve seen the original documents.
7. Click Save.

What happens next: the record shows the status you chose and “Check done on [date]…”.

Caution

If you leave Document checked in person unticked, every document on the record is marked “This document was not checked in person.”

Record a follow-up check

Do this when a tenant with limited permission to stay is due a follow-up check. You’ll see a Right to Rent Follow Up Required Action 30 days before the date.

1. Contact the tenant and check their right to rent again, following the GOV.UK guidance.
2. Open the Action. It shows “You need to add a follow up Right to Rent check for [tenant], [room]” and the Add Right to Rent form. (Or use Add new proof on the room’s panel.)
3. Fill in the form as in Record a right to rent check, with today’s documents and result.
4. If their permission is still time-limited, choose Accepted with limited stay and set the next Follow up check date.
5. Click Save.

What happens next: the new record becomes the tenant’s current check, the old one moves to Past checks, and the follow-up Action clears.

Note

COHO doesn’t contact the tenant about follow-up checks. Ask them for their documents or a new share code yourself.

Mark a document as checked in person

Do this when a document shows “This document was not checked in person.” and you’ve now seen the original.

1. Open the room’s Right to Rent panel.
2. Under the document, click Mark As Checked.

What happens next: the warning disappears for that document.

Correct a share code or document

Saved records can’t be edited, so how you correct one depends on where it came from.

If the applicant uploaded it and you haven’t verified it yet:

1. Ask the applicant for the correct details.
2. Open the onboarding and Review the application form. Choose Request More Info, explain what’s wrong in Message to applicant, and click Submit.
3. The applicant corrects the Share code or files and submits the form again.

Or, if you’ve already accepted the form with Leave it for later: click Edit on the application form, correct the Share code, Expiration or files, and save. The record is updated and stays Awaiting, ready for you to validate.

If the check is already accepted, or you added it yourself:

1. On the room’s Right to Rent panel, click Add new proof and record the check with the correct details.
2. If the wrong record should not be kept, click Remove on it, then Remove to confirm.

Remove a check

Use this to take off a record added by mistake.

1. Open the room’s Right to Rent panel.
2. Click Remove on the record (current, or under Past checks), then Remove to confirm.

What happens next: the record and its documents are no longer shown. If the tenant has no records left, an Add Right to Rent Documents Action comes back within a few hours.

Caution

There’s no undo. Removing doesn’t appear in the Audit Log, so add the correct record before removing the wrong one.

Find past checks and who did them

1. On the room’s Right to Rent panel, open Past checks to see older records for this tenancy’s tenants.
2. To see who added or validated a check, and when, open the room’s Audit Log, or the organisation’s Audit Log on your dashboard, and filter by Right to Rent.

Entries read “Right to rent proof added.” or “Right to rent proof validated”, with the user and date.

Download right to rent documents

1. Open the room’s Right to Rent panel.
2. Click a file under the document to open or download it.

Files download in the format they were uploaded in (for example JPG or PDF). COHO doesn’t produce a right to rent summary document.

For proof uploaded during onboarding, the application form’s export also lists the right to rent document details (type, expiry, share code and file names).

Turn Right to Rent on or off for a property

Before you start: you need the “Record right to rent checks” permission.

1. To turn it off: open a room page in the property and click the settings cog on the Right to Rent panel’s heading. To turn it on: open the property and scroll to its services; switched-off services are listed under Inactive services. Open Right to Rent.
2. Choose Off or Manual.
3. To apply this to more properties, tick Save for all properties (or Save for all properties in this building).
4. Click Save, and confirm if asked.

What happens next: with Off, the panel is hidden for the property and its right to rent Actions stop. With Manual, the panel shows and Actions are created for tenants without a check. If the terms haven’t been accepted, click View Terms and Conditions on the panel and accept them first.