Right to Rent and illegal immigrants

Migrants’ entering the UK is a hot topic at the moment, last month saw a high of 2000 migrants a day trying to cross from Calais into the UK, with an estimated 250,000 people crossing by boat into Europe this year according to officials.

Those that make it across will then be looking for somewhere to live. New legislation introduced last year allowed the removal of 36,000 people who were living in the country illegally but the government want to do more.

At the opening of Parliament earlier this year The Conservative Party announced there would be a new Immigration Bill, under the new bill landlords would be able to evict illegal immigrant tenants more easily, in some cases without a Court Order. A notice will be issued by the Home Office confirming the tenant no longer has the right to rent in the UK. It is then expected that the Landlord would start the process of evicting the tenant from the property.

To help aid this, the Government is planning to extend a recent pilot scheme in the Midlands to the whole of the UK. The scheme, known as ‘Right to Rent’, would require landlords to conduct checks regarding a potential tenants’ immigration status before offering them a tenancy agreement.

Landlords and Estate agents who fail to carry out the ‘Right to Rent’ checks could face a fine or prison sentence of up to 5 years under the new legislation; a blacklist of persistent rogue landlords and letting agents will also be made available.

These details form part of a technical discussion paper on improvements to the private rental sector and tackling rogue landlords in England published by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Other areas discussed were:

‘Beds in sheds’ and preventing repeat offenders from renting out properties

Allowing landlords to recover abandoned properties without the need for a Court Order

Extending Rent Repayment Orders to cover landlords who fail to ensure the property is maintained to a good standard

Penalty notices issues for certain civil offences

A tougher ‘fit and proper person test’ for Landlords that need licenses’ for their properties

Permitting the sharing of Tenancy Deposit Protection data

Access to the paper can be found on this link Tackling rogue landlords.

The Code of Practise on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation can be found here