New government legislation is to be introduced which will have costly consequences for landlords who do not sufficiently check the immigration status of their tenants. A landlord who fails to conduct necessary checks could be fined up to £3,000.
What will the landlord have to check?
The Government is under pressure to tackle illegal migrants seeking refuge in the UK. Under their new plans, landlords will be responsible for checking and validating their tenants’ passports and visas to ascertain their right to live in the U.K. This documentation will have to be checked for all occupants living within the same property. Guidelines on how to check these documents and how to identify if they are genuine will be released in due course. However, the legislation is sure to put extra strain on landlords who already have a number of responsibilities. The question therefore is, are the new changes fair?
For and against
Landlords will argue that additional workload, especially one of this importance and potential financial loss, should be left to other agencies. Their argument will be that they are busy enough running a commercial business and that long-term illegal migrants shouldn’t have had access to apply for accommodation.
However, the Government could counter that argument by saying that this initiative will help to remove more illegal migrants from the country. In addition, the new legislation will exploit some landlords knowingly offering sub-standard accommodation to migrants.
Changes in law
These upcoming changes in legislation are part of a larger immigration law, in which a number of changes will be implemented. The changes will include limiting benefits for European immigrants and charging temporary migrants who wish to use the NHS. Furthermore, migrants will have to have lived in one area for a minimum of two years before they are considered for social housing.
There will also be more of a crackdown on convicted criminals claiming the right to stay in the U.K on the basis of their family residing here. Instead, their appeal will be measured against the severity of the crime committed.
Cynics have argued that the new crackdowns on immigration are a response to the rise in support of the UKIP party. What is for sure is that the immigration bill is likely to split opinion and it remains to be seen whether it is ultimately a success.