The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has been working alongside the Home Office to overcome issues experienced by landlords and letting agents in East Anglia in regard to Right to Rent checks.
In Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, many letting agents and landlords deal with requests from US Air Force personnel for private rental accommodation.
ARLA Works with Home Office to Overcome Right to Rent Issues
However, the US Air Force staff have been informed that for security reasons, they cannot allow anyone to photocopy their identification documents, as is required under the Right to Rent scheme.
ARLA has teamed up with the Home Office to resolve this problem.
The US Air Force has now agreed to create letters specifically for the purpose of providing evidence of staff’s migration status to prospective landlords and letting agents.
The Home Office has told ARLA:
- This letter will be used for this purpose only and therefore can be kept or photocopied by a landlord or agent.
- The US military is happy for landlords or agents to see, but not copy, a military ID card, which will allow the landlord or agent to check the person’s identity more thoroughly and guard against abuse.
- This process will cover family members or dependents, but details are yet to be agreed. However, the Home Office claims that it is most likely that family will be named in the letter.
- The process will be outlined in forthcoming guidance.
- Military personnel will be made aware of these letters and the process.
As of 1st February, landlords or their letting agents have been required to conduct immigration status checks on all prospective adult tenants before the start of a tenancy through the Right to Rent scheme.
However, it has recently emerged that many landlords are already unaware of their legal obligations, and this issue looks set to confuse those renting out private property even further.
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