In England, ‘right to rent’ checks must be made on every prospective occupier of a privately rented property to confirm that they have the legal right to live in the UK.
Non-UK nationals have to provide documentation in accordance with immigration laws – e.g. a work visa – to show they’re able to legally rent a property. If they have an application or appeal that’s currently with the Home Office, or aren’t in receipt of their documents, you can use the online Home Office checking service. And for British and Irish citizens who hold a valid passport, you can carry out checks using certified identification document validation technology (IDVT) service providers.
Full information on which documents are acceptable and a step-by-step guide on how to make the checks are available on GOV.UK.
However, with physical immigration documents set to transition to entirely digital eVisas by 2024, this will impact the way landlords and agents conduct right to rent checks. As such, the Government will shortly be launching a consultation on a new digital checking system, asking for feedback from landlords on whether they understand the changes and how they’ll impact the way prospective tenants are checked.
With a digital system already in effect for UK nationals and an online Home Office checking system in place for foreign nationals, this is a logical step and hopefully won’t be too big a change for most landlords.
We will bring you full details of the consultation once they are available.
Fines for allowing illegal immigrants to rent are set to rise steeply
At the same time as the checking process is undergoing changes, the penalties for non-compliance are set to rise steeply next year. As it currently stands, the fines for landlords who are found to be housing illegal immigrants stand at £1,000 per tenant for a first offence and £3,000 for each subsequent breach, with persistent offenders risking prosecution and jail.
But, amid the ongoing battle against migrants entering the country illegally, and with Rishi Sunak’s pledge to ‘stop the boats’, the Government is now proposing hiking these maximum fines to £10,000 per tenant for a first offence and £20,000 thereafter. Robert Jenrick, the Minister for Immigration, has said that unscrupulous landlords who allow illegal renting “enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue”, and argues that because illegal renting is a significant ‘pull factor’ for migrants crossing the Channel, increasing fines will serve as a deterrent.
However, Ben Beadle, NRLA Chief Executive, believes the move is unlikely to tackle the core issue. He said, “By the time illegal immigrants are looking for housing, the boats have already left. The Government is deflecting from the real issues and doing responsible landlords a great disservice by confusing them with criminals harbouring illegal immigrants.” He suggested that the fear of getting the checks wrong is likely to make some law-abiding landlords more cautious about who they let to, which will make it harder for some people to find homes – potentially including British nationals who simply lack the documentation to prove their legitimate right to rent.
The legislation is expected to be laid before Parliament in the autumn and come into force in early 2024. With our range of landlord services, we can carry out these checks for you.
The Reeds Rains Content Marketing Team
