In early November, the government announced that new rules concerning Right to Rent checks would come into effect from 1st December. Many were shocked as it created a short time frame and no official government guidance was available at the time.
The Law as it Stands Now
On the 1st December, it became law that any landlord or other property owner who failed to carry out the would face criminal prosecution and potential jail time. The maximum possible jail time for landlords failing to carry out the relevant checks is now five years. At the same time, the government changed the law on eviction that should a landlord discover that their tenant had no right to live in the country, either that they never did or were legal at the time the tenancy started but have since lost the right, they have the right to immediate eviction.
Until now, the punishment has been a fine of anything up to £3,000 per illegal immigrant. However, it is expected that the maximum punishment will be reserved only for those landlords colluding with and exploiting illegal immigrant tenants.
Expansion of Right to Rent
Introduced in the midlands in 2014, following the successful trial it expanded to cover all of England in February this year. It will branch out to cover the rest of the United Kingdom through 2017 and beyond. The government claims that it will not just tackle illegal immigration, but will also be used as a method of cracking down on rogue landlords. How Right to Rent is expected to do this is unclear as the government information released ahead of the 1st December changes was minimal.
The act was designed to make it increasingly difficult for illegal immigrants to rent in the UK by putting more pressure and responsibility on the landlord or letting agent acting on their behalf. The government also claims that illegal immigrants put pressure on the housing market, preventing legal tenants from finding a home and driving up rent prices. However, no government spokesperson has come forward with statistics to in support of this.
Landlords Speak Out
The changes that happened in the run up to December is said to have taken place in consultation with landlord representative groups. Concerns about unfair criminalisation of landlords means there is now a robust framework to permit property owners and their agents to legally evict illegal tenants. Any due punishment for harbouring illegal immigrants will take into account the actions of the owner in attempting to evict said tenants.
However, not all are happy. Many landlords feel they have not been given adequate advice on what does and does not qualify as legal paperwork. Others feel that more advice should be offered on spotting faked documentation to better help them comply with the law.