LAUNCH OF ONLINE RIGHT TO RENT CHECKS ON 25 NOVEMBER 2020
LAUNCH OF ONLINE RIGHT TO RENT CHECKS ON 25 NOVEMBER 2020
Patricia Marleau of our immigration team looks at recent developments in Right to Rent checks for residential property owners. If you have any questions regarding your responsibility as a landlord to ensure your tenant or lodger can legally rent your residential property in England, please contact our team for advice on 01905 900 919 or email patricia@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk.
In December 2014, the UK government launched a right to rent scheme (“the Right to Rent Scheme”) requiring landlords, letting agents or homeowners to conduct checks to ensure all tenants who occupy their residential properties have legal status to live in the UK.
This means that in the 28 days before the start of a new tenancy in England, they must undertake specific checks to prevent liability for a civil penalty should it transpire that a person has no legal immigration status and, therefore, does not qualify for right to rent. Exceptions apply.
The Right to Rent Scheme applies only to residential tenancy agreements first entered into on or after 1 December 2014 in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall, and on 1 February 2016 in the rest of England.
In an effort to reduce the burden placed on landlords, the Home Office is introducing an online checking service. From 25 November 2020, it will be possible to carry out right to rent checks online for:-
- non-EEA nationals with a biometric residence permit or card;
- EEA nationals and their family members with status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme; and
- those with status under the point-based immigration system.
For anyone else, documents will still need to be checked manually or a request will need to be made to the Landlord Checking Service (see https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/lcs-application.ofml) if they have no documents.
| IMPORTANT REMINDER
Avoid unlawful discrimination when conducting right to rent checks by checking documents of ALL prospective tenants aged 18 and over (including British citizens), even if:- · they are not named on the tenancy agreement; · there is no tenancy agreement; and · the tenancy agreement is not in writing. Avoid making assumptions about one’s right to rent or their immigration status on the basis of their name, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, accent or length of time they have been resident in the UK. |
Please refer to the Home Office’s guide for landlords on right to rent checks at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/landlords-guide-to-right-to-rent-checks for further details.
In most cases, this new online process will make things much easier and quicker for those who are required to carry out right to rent checks. However, the situation will remain difficult for individuals whose immigration status is unclear. We encourage landlords faced with a difficult situation to contact us for assistance to avoid putting off renting to individuals who may have every right to rent and who indeed could be a potential ongoing source of revenue.
If you have any questions regarding your responsibility as a landlord to establish a prospective tenant’s right to rent in England or any other immigration related matter, please contact our team for advice on 01905 900 919 or email patricia@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk.