Right to rent checks for landlords

The Home Office has today announced that the Right-to-Rent Scheme will be rolled our across all of England from February 2016. When setting up a new tenancy private landlords must check documents to show that they have the right to rent in the UK.

Information regarding Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to follow.

Once implemented checks will be required in England if you:

• Are a private landlord

• Take in a lodger

• Are a landlord or tenant sub-letting a property

• Are an agent appointed by a landlord to make right-to-rent checks such as when managing the property

Landlords who don’t make the checks could face a civil penalty of up to £3,000 per tenant if they are found to be renting out a property to someone who is in the UK illegally.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: "Right to rent checks are quick and simple, and many responsible landlords already do them as a matter of routine. We are providing landlords in England with all the advice and support they need before the checks go live on 1 February 2016."

How to check right-to-rent status

The Home Office has broken this down into three steps:

Obtain – original versions of one of more acceptable documents

Check – check the document’s validity in the presence of the holder

Copy – make and retain a clear copy, and record the date the check was made

A guidance document published by the Home Office on how to check immigration documents is available here: Guidance document

If you have any questions please free to contact our office on 03338000210 or via email to letting@makeurmove.co.uk