Landlords renting out property in England will be obliged soon to monitor the immigration status of tenants or lodgers.
The “right to rent” obligation comes with a fine up to £3,000 for failure to comply. Penalties are issued per tenant living in a property who has no right to rent.
A trial has been underway in the West Midlands since December. Landlords there must check the nationality and visa status of tenants.
The programme could be rolled out across England by September.
Critics believe this could put landlords in a difficult position when judging if a tenant is permitted to live in the UK. Moreover, landlords are required by law not to discriminate against tenants by nationality or race and could be sued under the 2010 Equality Act by tenants who are turned down unfairly.
Some feel the job should be down to trained immigration officers.
Landlords will have to obtain original documents, check their validity, make a copy of each. If a visa expires before the tenancy ends, the landlord must ensure that it is renewed.
If a sitting tenant no longer has a right to rent, the landlord should notify the Home Office.
Free from the rules are tenancy agreements in place before December 2014, or renewals of those tenancies after this date, as long as it involves the same people and there’s no break in the tenancy.
The rules do not apply to holiday lets or second homes, but to an “only or main home”.
The Home Office runs a free "Landlords Checking Service" which lists the documents needed as proof.
There are companies offering to do these checks on behalf of landlords, but it is not yet clear if the Home Office considers their services as “reasonable measures”.
