New Regulations
Along with employers, landlords are shortly about to receive extra regulation regarding immigration status. The Home Secretary’s announcement on the 7th of August informs landlords and employers that civil penalties will be increasing three-fold:
‘For landlords the fines will increase from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier for a first breach to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier. Repeat breaches will be up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier, up from £500 and £3,000 respectively. The higher penalties will come in at the start of 2024.’
These increases in regulation have followed onwards directly from higher levels of immigration enforcement. Teams have increased their activity on both landlords and employers by 57% in the first quarter on 2023, already arresting more individuals than in all of 2022. Totalling over £215,000, landlords have already been hit with over 320 civil penalties since the start of 2018.
It is vital that the correct and applicable right to rent check are put in place before taking any new tenancy. Undoubtedly many of the landlords fined were simply more unaware than underhand.
How to Complete Right to Rent Checks
There are two main ways to check if a tenant has a right to rent. The most common way is with original documents that include:
• A British or Irish passport.
• A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.
• Original Immigration documents, though acceptable versions of this have changed considering Brexit, contact us if you are unsure.
When manually verifying these documents, you must make sure the pictures match the individual, the date of birth lines up and they don’t show any signs of editing or heavy damage.
You can also use an individual’s share code if they have settled or pre-settled status, have a biometric residence card or have applied for a visa. If the tenant has a valid original document, then you cannot insist upon using the share code.
If the code is valid, you will be taken to the individual’s profile on the system. From here save the profile digitally or printing, record the date the check is made, and keep the copy for 1 year after their tenancy ends with you.
The final option is to request a right to rent check from the Home Office. This can be necessary if the Home Office has their documents, they have an outstanding case or appeal or if they have been told by the Home Office they have ‘permission to rent’.
You will require the individuals Home Office reference number, and will get a response in 2 working days.
For further information regarding right to rent checks or landlord and tenant matters, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Bill Dhariwal, solicitor and director, on E: bill.dhariwal@lawcomm.co.uk or Mr. Sam Nolan, litigation assistant, on E: sam.nolan@lawcomm.co.uk.
The contents of this article does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Law correct only at time of publication.
