A passport photocopier on arrivals day
Where your lets are covered by right to rent rules, your team has to carry out the checks before the tenancy starts, in the way the guidance sets out, and keep a record. For a residence with a large international intake, that means hundreds of checks in the same few weeks, many for students who arrive late at night or on the final weekend.
In practice, a lot of checks happen at the desk: passports, visas, share codes read off a phone, notes typed quickly. And for students with time-limited permission, somebody needs to remember to check again later.
Why checks become a bottleneck
- Checks are left until arrival because nobody collects the information earlier.
- Students are unsure what they need to provide, so they bring the wrong thing.
- Share codes are given at the desk and checked online while the queue waits.
- Records are kept as photocopies or scans in a folder with inconsistent names.
- Follow-up dates for time-limited permission sit in a spreadsheet nobody owns.
The checks themselves are not the difficulty. Doing all of them at the same moment, in a queue, is.
What rushed checks cost
A check done under pressure is more likely to be incomplete or poorly recorded, which is a risk your advisers can explain better than we can. Arrivals queues get longer while staff check documents. And a follow-up check missed months later is exactly the kind of gap that is hard to fix after the event.
The pre-arrival check route we build
- When a booking is confirmed, the student gets a clear request for what they need to provide, in plain language, with the steps for getting a share code if that applies.
- Students submit their share code, date of birth and document images through a secure form before arrival.
- Each submission is prepared for a trained member of your staff to complete the check, with the information laid out in the order they need it. The check itself is done by a person, following the official process.
- The completed check, the evidence and the name of the staff member are stored against the booking with the date.
- Where permission is time-limited, the follow-up date is recorded and reminders go to your team ahead of it.
- Arrivals staff see a simple status on the booking: check complete, in progress, or still needed, so only the last group need anything at the desk.
| Stage | At the desk today | With the route |
|---|---|---|
| Knowing what to bring | Unclear to students | Explained after booking |
| Share codes and documents | Given in the queue | Submitted in advance |
| Completing the check | Rushed | Done by trained staff before arrival |
| Records | Scans in a folder | Stored against the booking |
| Follow-ups | Spreadsheet | Reminders ahead of each date |
Whether checks apply to your lets, and how they must be carried out, is for you and your advisers. We build the workflow around the process you follow; we do not give legal advice or promise compliance.
What arrivals look like after
Most checks are done before the student travels, by staff working calmly through a queue on screen rather than a queue in reception. Arrivals staff only need to deal with the few who could not complete in advance. Follow-up checks are no longer a spreadsheet task, and records are found by searching the booking.
Is this where you are now?
- Most right to rent checks happen at the desk on arrival.
- Students often bring the wrong documents.
- Records are photocopies or scans with no consistent filing.
- Follow-up dates are tracked in a spreadsheet or not at all.
- Arrivals queues get longer because of document checks.