Posts with tag: right to rent checks

Right to Rent Checks in Force From February

Published On: October 21, 2015 at 9:59 am

Tags: immigration checks,landlord immigration checks,Right to Rent,right to rent checks

All private landlords in England must make right to rent checks on their tenants from 1^st February 2016. The law was created to tackle illegal immigration, as landlords must ensure their tenants have the right to live in the UK.

You must make the checks if you are a private landlord, have a lodger, sub-let a property or are a letting or management agent working on behalf of a landlord.

Making the checks

Before you rent out a property, you must ensure that an adult tenant will live in the home as their only or main residence.
You must ask all tenants for original documents that prove that they have the right to be in the UK.
When the tenant is present, check the documents are valid.
Right to Rent Checks in Force From February

Then, make and keep copies of these documents and record the date you made the checks.

If a prospective tenant has an outstanding immigration application or appeal with the Home Office, you can request a Home Office right to rent check.

Tenants

All potential tenants seeking private rental accommodation will have their immigration status checked from 1^st February 2016. Those that sub-let rooms must make the checks on other renters.

Documentation

Landlords will need to see certain documents that show their prospective tenants have the right to be in the UK.

Acceptable documents include:

UK passport
EEA passport or identity card
Permanent residence card or travel document stating indefinite leave to remain
Home Office immigration status document
Certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen

Stick to the law

Landlords that do not make the checks could be fined up to £3,000 if they let a property to someone who is in the UK illegally.

These checks have been introduced as part of the Government’s reforms of the immigration system.

Find out more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/right-to-rent-checks-what-they-mean-for-you

Are you ready for the checks?

Right to Rent Checks Could Cause Racism Within the PRS

Published On: October 12, 2015 at 4:26 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlord Immigration Bill,landlord immigration checks,landlord right to rent checks,letting to illegal immigrants,right to rent checks

The Shadow Home Secretary, Andy Burnham, has criticised the right to rent checks that the new Immigration Bill could make law.

Under the scheme, landlords or their letting agents must check the immigration status of tenants or risk prosecution.

The bill will make it a criminal offence to let a private rental property to an illegal immigrant. It will require ongoing checks if a tenant’s right to live in the UK could change. The bill will also allow landlords to quickly evict illegal tenants.

Right to Rent Checks Could Cause Racism Within the PRS

Burnham, seemingly the first politician to address the potential problems with the scheme, which have been discussed for months within the industry, says the new measures could cause problems for “anyone with a foreign-sounding name”.

He describes the bill as “disproportionate, divisive and deceitful”.

He adds that the new document checks could become the modern-day equivalent of the ‘no dogs, no blacks, no Irish’ signs seen in windows in the 1960s.

Burnham accuses the Government of trying to legalise “everyday racism”¹ in the housing market.

He calls for the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to revise the entire scheme.

Separately, the Equality and Human Rights Commission warns that the new quicker eviction process could leave families destitute and breach their human rights.

The Immigration Bill returns to the House of Commons tomorrow.

A Home Office spokesperson announces: “The Government has made clear that the right to rent scheme is about reducing illegal migrants’ access to services; it has never been targeted at people with a lawful right to be in the UK.

“Right to rent checks must be performed on a non-discriminatory basis – landlords are advised to check and record identity documents for all new tenants. Anyone who discriminates would be breaking the law.”¹

Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), Alan Ward, comments: “Landlords are rightly fearful of being caught out and also that they could be criminalised by the legislation which threatens a £3,000 fine or even prison.

“It is only natural therefore that they would choose the most readily compliant tenant, such as the one with a passport, which brings up the problem that 17% of UK residents don’t have a passport.

“The RLA has been pushing the Home Office for clarification about documentation and for councils to issue letters to benefit tenants showing their right to rent.

“This legislation is being pushed through even before the report on the West Midlands pilot scheme has appeared.”¹

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/right-to-rent-scheme-will-create-everyday-racism-in-housing-market-warns-andy-burnham/

Landlords and Agents Must Evict Illegal Immigrant Tenants Within 28 Days

Published On: September 21, 2015 at 1:53 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Immigration Bill 2015,landlord right to rent checks,right to rent checks,tenant immigration checks

A new Immigration Bill has been published, making it a criminal offence for landlords and letting agents to breach Right to Rent rules.

A property lawyer has described the Bill as “hateful bilge”.

The new Bill is an extension of the Immigration Act 2014, which made it a civil offence if landlords and agents failed to conduct checks on the immigration status of tenants. The regime was part of the pilot Right to Rent scheme in the West Midlands, which began in December 2014. The Government has still not analysed the trial.

The 2015 Bill, due for a second reading on 13^th October, makes it a criminal offence to allow a private rental sector property to be occupied “by an adult who is disqualified as a result of their immigration status from occupying premises under a residential tenancy agreement.”¹

Landlords and Agents Must Evict Illegal Immigrant Tenants Within 28 Days

The landlord or agent will also be committing an offence if they know or have reason to know that the tenant does not have a right to rent in the UK, for example, because the Secretary of State has served a notice on the landlord or agent, stating that the property is occupied by an illegal immigrant.

The maximum penalty for landlords and agents is five years imprisonment.

The Bill also includes new rules on eviction.

When the Secretary of State serves a notice saying that the home is occupied by someone with no right to live there, the landlord or agent can serve the tenant a notice giving them 28 days to leave. This notice has the enforceable status of one issued by the High Court.

It is not clear what would happen if a tenant given 28 days notice to leave vanishes without a trace.

The Scottish Government has criticised the new Bill, despite it not applying to Scotland.

Scottish Social Justice Secretary, Alex Neil, says it will exacerbate the current immigrant crisis and “increase levels of homelessness and discriminate against migrants rather than reduce immigration”.

He also hit out at Westminster, saying it rushed through the legislation: “I am disappointed to see the inhumane measures set out in the Immigration Bill and I am deeply concerned that if approved, they will encourage people to discriminate against this vulnerable group.

“These harsh restrictions around rent and evictions would make it even tougher for migrants to access housing.

“Where they have accommodation, they may be too frightened to keep in contact with the Home Office and authorities if they believe there is a threat of eviction.

“The UK Government’s approach, coinciding with its delayed response to the worst humanitarian crisis facing Europe since the Second World War, shows an unbelievable lack of compassion and understanding of people’s basic rights.

“We will do all we can to stand against the proposals in the Bill.”¹

Lawyers have also opposed the Bill.

On the Nearly Legal blog, written by a barrister, some of the measures included are called “truly remarkable”². The blog questions what will happen if the Secretary of State serves an erroneous notice.

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/agents-and-landlords-will-be-able-to-evict-illegal-immigrant-tenants-in-28-days/

²http://nearlylegal.co.uk/2015/09/doesnt-it-make-you-proud-to-be-english/

Right to Rent Pilot Described as a Fiasco

Published On: September 7, 2015 at 4:20 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlord immigration checks,right to rent checks,right to rent pilot,right to rent scheme,tenant immigration checks

A leading property lawyer has described the right to rent pilot scheme as a “fiasco” and said it was “even worse than I expected.”

Giles Peaker responded to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) report on the pilot scheme that has been trialled in the West Midlands since December 2014.

Right to Rent Pilot Described as a Fiasco

Peaker, a partner at law firm Anthony Gold, said the policy “is going to have to take some quite astonishing justification in any Home Office evaluation to take forward nationally. It is, on a purely practical basis, a fiasco.”¹

He voiced his opinions on the Almost Legal website.

The Home Office has not yet released its own evaluation of the pilot, but has stated that the scheme will be rolled out nationally, with legislation likely to be announced shortly, and enacted and implemented quickly.

It will require all landlords or their letting agents to conduct immigration checks on prospective tenants and to carry out further checks on tenants whose immigration status may subsequently change.

Landlords and agents that do not undertake checks face criminal sanctions, including up to five years in prison. In the trial, landlords have been able to fully delegate the responsibility to their agents.

The JCWI report revealed that 69% of landlords do not believe they should have to conduct checks and 77% are not in favour of a national roll out.

The Chartered Institute of Housing has also given its view.

It said that the pilot scheme was not a success and that the JCWI’s report had highlighted “clear dangers that it won’t do what the Government wants – deter ‘illegal’ immigrants – but it may well do something no one wants; make it harder for people with every right to be in the UK to find a decent home.”¹

The JCWI report can be found here: http://www.jcwi.org.uk/sites/default/files/documets/No%20Passport%20Equals%20No%20Home%20Right%20to%20Rent%20Independent%20Evaluation_0.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendpress&utm_campaign

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/right-to-rent-pilot-branded-a-fiasco-by-top-housing-lawyer/

Tenants Being Rejected by Right to Rent Scheme

Published On: September 4, 2015 at 8:43 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: Immigration Act 2014,landlord immigration checks,right to rent checks,tenant immigration checks

Landlords and letting agents are rejecting lawful prospective tenants in the pilot scheme of right to rent checks due to the unfamiliarity of some of the documents that must be checked.

A briefing note yesterday from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants describes the scheme as “dangerous.”

It believes that landlords and agents should not be treated as border control and that confusion over immigration documents is causing discrimination against renters.

It also warns that this confusion is not just within the pilot area, the West Midlands, but more widespread.

Under the right to rent scheme, which is due to be rolled out nationally soon, agents and landlords must check the immigration status of all prospective tenants, or face penalties, including up to five years in prison.

The briefing note has been published after two surveys, one for landlords and agents, and the other for tenants and lodgers. Of 76 responses, 31 were from agents and landlords.

Tenants Being Rejected by Right to Rent Scheme

The council also received further evidence, including 17 instances of discrimination and unfair refusal of tenancies and conducted a mystery shopping exercise.

One of the council’s main concerns is that checks are not being taken consistently, but are “instead directed at certain individuals who appear as if they may be a migrant.”

Half of respondents that were refused a tenancy felt that discrimination was a factor.

The council also noted widespread ignorance. Just 19% of agents and landlords nationwide were even aware of right to rent.

The briefing note highlights the fact that some landlords and agents are charging fees for conducting the checks and sometimes they pass on the cost of potential fines to the tenant through increased rent or deposits.

One third of respondents from the pilot area had been charged a handling fee of over £50 and 20% were charged more than £100.

The council states that right to rent “encourages discrimination and will create a hostile environment for all migrants and ethnic minorities in the UK seeking to access the private rental market.”

It continues: “Due to the current developments in Calais, we are now seeing a knee-jerk reaction from our Government who want to appear even tougher on illegal immigration through extending a dangerous scheme without proper consideration.”¹

Responding to the briefing note, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) blames “the complexity of the Government’s plans to turn landlords into border police.”

It calls for the national roll out of the scheme to be delayed until the Government has published its own assessment of the pilot scheme in the West Midlands.

David Smith, the RLA Policy Director, says: “Whilst the RLA opposes discrimination against tenants because of their race or nationality, the Government’s plans are causing confusion and anxiety.

“If the Government expects landlords and agents to act as border police it should provide the training and material needed to give them the confidence to carry out the checks required of them.

“In the absence of such support, this research sadly shows the inevitable consequences of the policy, which the RLA has long voiced concerns about.

“Faced with considerable sanctions, landlords will inevitably play it safe where a tenant’s identity documents are either unclear or simply not known to them.”

The Home Office has still not published its own assessment of the pilot scheme.

Smith continues: “It is concerning that the Government remains committed to rolling out the right to rent policy nationwide without first publishing its assessment of the impact it has had in its own pilot area.

“Ministers should halt plans to proceed with its roll out to allow time for proper scrutiny and consideration of the impact it is likely to have.”¹

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/lawful-tenants-being-rejected-because-of-right-to-rent-fears/

Landlords and Agents Warned About Rise in Fake Passports

Published On: September 3, 2015 at 5:46 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Landlord News

Tags: landlord immigration checks,right to rent checks,tenant immigration checks,vetting tenants

Landlords and Agents Warned About Rise in Fake Passports

Landlords and letting agents have been warned that there has been a rise in fake passports, after a tenant vetting firm saw the number of prospective renters with false documentation soar.

Managing Director of Keysafe Tenant Vetting, Gareth Fowler, says that his firm is now witnessing hopeful tenants with fake passports on “almost a daily basis” compared to only “once or twice a month” a year or two ago.

Under the Immigration Act 2014, landlords or their agents could have fines or prison sentences imposed upon them if they do not conduct right to rent checks or if their tenants are found to have fake documents.

Fowler states that the main worry is the clear rise in fake UK passports. He says this is not just seen in the lower end of the market, but many false documents are from renters willing to pay “£8,000 or £9,000 a month in Mayfair.”

He warns that the forged passports often appear legitimate to the untrained eye and are even sometimes accompanied by convincing employment references from phony limited companies.

He adds: “In particular, the old letting agent myth of ‘if they’re from the UK they’re okay’ needs to be put to rest. The same care must be taken when vetting each and every applicant.”¹

¹http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/letting-agents-warned-after-rise-in-fake-passports/