The Bill, which could enter into law later this year but not be in force until 2015, will require landlords to obtain more comprehensive tenant references and conduct frequent checks on their immigration status. This new legislation puts a large responsibility on lettings agents and landlords and they could face a fine of up to £3,000 for each adult found to be staying illegally in a rented property.
Any tenant who cannot prove they are a British Citizen, a national of an European Economic Area state or a Swiss national must have their immigration status verified before they can be offered any kind of tenancy. Anyone who does not have the right to remain in the UK must be refused, whether they are named in the tenancy agreement or not.
Landlords or agents will need to show that they have made a reasonable effort to check tenants and to make sure the property is not inhabited by someone other than the declared occupier.
The changes comes after the British Property Federation (BPF) tabled an amendment on the grounds that international students go through rigorous visa checks before being accepted by a university and that requiring landlords to so the same would be a duplication of the same checks.
‘We are very satisfied to see that our amendments to the Immigration Bill have been accepted. The time and resources that would have been spent by student accommodation providers carrying out these checks would have been completely wasted,’ said Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the British Property Federation.
‘If we want to see the UK’s higher education sector competing on the global stage then we need to make sure that we welcome those from other countries who want to study here, not make it more difficult for them,’ he added.
According to the Government website, the scheme will be tested in a single place, prior to its wider introduction. A number of amendments have been made following a consultation on the proposals.
The Residential Landlords Association agued for it to be made clear that provided a landlord carried out the required checks on a tenant’s immigration status, the landlord would not be penalised. The tenancy agreement would remain enforceable, even if it later emerged that the tenant was an illegal migrant.
According to Michael Portman, managing director of LetRisks, although it could take as long as two years to bring into force, in the meantime agents and landlords will need to prepare for the changes.
‘We do know that almost one in five tenants do not want to share their immigration status with their landlord, according to the latest tenant index from the National Landlords Association (NLA). Under the new legislation, would be tenants will have to produce evidence from a checklist of documents that they have permission to be in the UK and landlords will have to take a copy for their records,’ he said.
‘Putting the onus on the tenant to declare their status and agree they are not in breach of the rules, perhaps by adding a clause to a tenancy agreement, will not be acceptable as a defence if the landlord or agent knew the tenant would be in breach of this term, or if they did not attempt to independently verify their status,’ he explained.
‘If the tenant is allowed to remain in the property, the landlord or agent could face a fine. Subsequent checks will need to be made on the tenant at the end of the eligibility period, which is the longest of either one year following their latest checks, the remaining time they have leave to stay in the UK, or the time remaining on a valid immigration document issued to the tenant. For tenants who never had the right to remain in the UK, the landlord or agent who entered into the agreement will be liable. For tenants whose right to remain in the UK expired, the landlord or agent at the time of expiry will be liable,’ he added.
In addition, landlords and agents will have a duty to carry out periodic checks on tenants who have limited leave to remain in the country. ‘There is a great burden for agents and landlords, but good reference checks at the start of a new tenancy, will give landlords and agents the necessary information to make an informed decision on a tenant’s application,’ said Portman.
Howard Lester, lettings director at Balgores Property Group, said that a concern is that if a tenant has friends staying who are staying illegally in the country this could result in a landlord or agent being fined even although they could not reasonably be expected to check on something like this.
He also believes it is unclear what would happen if a tenant’s visa or permission to be in the UK expired during a tenancy. He wants to know if there will be a speedy process to evict the tenants to avoid the agent being responsible.
