Landlords Checks The Immigration Act 2014 Immigration Act 2014 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Landlords Checks

The Immigration Act 2014

Immigration Act 2014

• Received Royal Assent on 14 May
• It will limit the factors that make the UK an attractive destination to illegal

migrants and make it easier to remove those with no right to be here.

• Among its provisions:

– Banks and building societies must not open new current accounts to persons disqualified by reason of their immigration status; – Give legislative force to the policy of refusing UK driving licences of those here illegally, and enable existing licences to be revoked; – Private landlords are prohibited from renting accommodation to those with no right to live in the UK; – Introduce a health surcharge to ensure that temporary migrants (e.g. students or skilled workers) make a financial contribution to the NHS.

• Separate secondary legislation doubled the maximum civil penalty on

employers of illegal workers.

2

Landlord Checks HELPFUL TO ADD STATS / FACTS?

• Landlords should check the right to rent to prospective tenants before letting

accommodation as their main or only home.

• Ensuring that landlords undertake the right checks will help us to tackle the

problem of illegal immigration, rogue landlords and the exploitation of illegal migrants within the housing sector.

• To prevent illegal migrants competing against lawful residents for

accommodation.

3

What will the checks involve?

• In most cases the checks will be simple and straightforward, landlords or their

agents will need to check:

• Evidence of a person’s identity and citizenship e.g. a passport or other

documentation for UK and European Economic Area (EEA) citizens or the biometric residence permit for non-EEA citizens.

• Landlords will need to retain a copy of these documents as evidence that they

have conducted the checks. Follow up checks for temporary migrants.

• Where an individual cannot provide evidence:
• Due to lack of passport or BRP, refer to list of other acceptable

documents; and

• Where all documents are with the Home Office, use the checking service

4

Phase 1 of Landlord Checks

• Phase 1 of the Landlord checks will begin in the West Midlands.
• From 1st December 2014 landlords in Birmingham, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley

and Wolverhampton should conduct right to rent checks. This will provide an excuse against a civil penalty if they are found to have let accommodation to a non-EEA national without lawful immigration status.

• The West Midlands was chosen as the phase 1 location due to its diverse

housing and rental market and the size of the population which is big enough to mitigate the risk of tenants moving out to other areas.

• The new measures will then be evaluated, and decisions will be made in 2015

about how and when to roll the scheme out nationally.

5

Who is impacted by right to rent checks?

• Landlords and occupants of private rental residential properties in Birmingham,

Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Wolverhampton.

• New tenancies only starting on or after 1st December 2014.
• Checks are not retrospective
• Existing tenancies are not affected as long as there is no break in the

tenancy

• All adults (aged 18 and over) living at the property whether or not they are

named on the tenancy agreement.

• Children are exempt but landlords will need to satisfy themselves that the

person is under 18.

6

Who is responsible for conducting the checks?

• The person who responsible for letting the accommodation is responsible for

conducting the checks. This could be a landlord or agent or individual renting

• ut their spare room.
• Landlords can ask an agent to perform the document checks on their behalf

but they will need to have evidence of this arrangement, in a contract or written document.

• If tenants sublet the accommodation, then they will be responsible for the right

to rent checks and liable for any civil penalty.

• this applies equally to tenants within private or social housing

7

How should a landlord conduct a check?

Landlord / letting agent Retains copy

Examples of documents evidencing a tenant’s right to rent

1. Passport or national identify card (British , EEA, Switzerland) 2. Registration certificate or document certifying permanent residence issued by the Home Office 3. Permanent residence card 4. Valid biometric residence permit 5. Endorsed passport to show no limit, right of abode, indefinite 6. Certificate of registration or naturalisation as British citizen 7. Documents showing exempt from immigration control 8. Any 2 from a list of documents including full birth certificate, driving licence 9. Valid passport, BRP endorsed to show holder can stay in UK

• 10. Residence card or derivative residence card
• 11. Valid immigration status document issued by Home Office

documents available?

Step 1

Tenant provides landlord / letting agent with evidence of their right to rent

tenant provides landlord with their:-

1. Name 2. Date of birth 3. Nationality 4. Home Office reference number

no End of process does tenant have an active application with Home Office? yes no tenant does not have a right to rent yes tenant has a right to rent Landlord requests a right to rent from the Home Office (Step 2)

How should a landlord request a Home Office check?

GOV.UK

Landlords Checking Service

conduct checks e-mail e-mail right to rent confirmation (yes/no) request

landlord / letting agent

• n-line request

for a right to rent check

Step 2

Request for a right to rent check

Are there any exemptions?

• Children (under the age of 18 years)
• Holiday accommodation
• If it is not the tenant’s only or main home (N.B. if in doubt, landlords should

conduct the check)

• House guests such as friends or family members provided that they are not

paying rent or they are not living in the accommodation as their only or main home

• Accommodation involving local authorities
• Care homes, hospitals, hospices and continuing healthcare provisions
• Hostels and refuges
• Student accommodation including all halls of residence, any accommodation

provided for students directly by a higher educational institution (HEI), and residency agreements in private residential properties where the student has been nominated to occupy the property by a HEI.

• Long leases granting occupation of 7 years or more (as more akin to home
• wnership)

10

What are the penalties for breaching the scheme?

11

Penalty amount Level 1

(first breach - minimum)

Level 2

(second breach - maximum)

Category A (lodgers in a private household) £80 £500 Category B (tenants in rented accommodation) £1,000 £3,000

How will the civil penalty scheme be administered?

• If a landlord (or agent) is found to be renting to someone who is in the country

illegally , the Home Office may issue a referral notice outlining:

• the details of the case
• when the case will be considered
• possible decision of the outcome
• The Home Office will then send an information request
• asking for further information and evidence to inform the decision
• If found liable, the individual will be issued with a civil penalty notice
• Landlord/agent can object and appeal on the following grounds:
• Not being liable to pay the penalty, e.g. you are not the landlord
• A statutory excuse, i.e. you undertook the prescribed document checks
• the level of the penalty is too high, i.e. Home Office has miscalculated

the amount of the penalty by reference to the wrong criteria

12

Next steps…

• We have convened an expert panel made up of representatives of national
• rganisations informed on housing, letting, human rights and homelessness.

Current attendees are:

• British Property Federation
• CRISIS
• National Housing Federation
• National Landlords Federation
• Residential Landlords Association
• RICS
• UK Association of Letting Agent
• Universities UK
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Association of Residential Lettings Agent
• National Association of Estate Agents
• National Approved Letting Scheme
• We have also invited representatives from the local authorities of Birmingham,

Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell.

13

Where can landlords/agents/tenants get more information?

• On Gov.uk you can find the code of practice which gives detail on the policy and the

background to the legislation and simple guidance for landlords.

• You can also register for email updates to keep updated when further rollouts are

announced.

• There is a fact sheet and infograph to download. This can be distributed amongst your

staff.

• You can also use the right to rent aid on GOV.UK to find out if your property is affected

and how to conduct the checks.

• There is also a Landlords Helpline for landlords and those with questions (Telephone:

0300 069 9799).

14