The penalty increase is part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration in the UK by the Home Office.
The fines landlords face if they don’t comply with the government’s Right to Rent regulations increased in February. These increases are part of a Home Office crackdown on illegal immigration. The Immigration Act 2014 asked landlords to check the immigration status of any potential tenant ahead of the tenancy starting.
Significant increases to fines
Right to Rent fines have increased dramatically, from £80 per lodger to £5,000 per lodger and from £1,000 per occupant to £10,000 per occupant for first breaches.
Repeat breaches bring down even higher penalties, from £500 per lodger to £10,000 per lodger and from £3,000 to £20,000 for occupants.
It’s vital that landlords check their tenants’ immigration status
If you’re a landlord in Cheltenham then you may be letting out properties to overseas students or to people moving to the area to work at one of the town’s big employers. It’s vital, then, that you vet any potential tenant before the tenancy begins.
How to conduct a Right to Rent check
After successful referencing, landlords need to conduct a right-to-rent check to ensure the prospective tenants have the right to rent property in the UK.
Once a potential tenant has passed the referencing process successfully, you need to see the documents which prove their immigration status allows them to rent a property in the UK.
Acceptable documents differ according to the prospective tenant’s nationality.
Options for UK citizens are:
- A combination of a valid UK driving licence and an original UK birth certificate
- A valid UK passport
Options for other nationalities are:
- A valid EEA*/Swiss national ID card (since June 30 2021 a visa or proof of settlement status granted is required)
- A combination of passport and valid visa or Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)
*Countries in the EEA are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain & Sweden
You may also use a “share code” which lets you as a landlord check someone’s immigration status online.
