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Right to Rent Pilot Leads to Only One Fine
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The right to rent immigration checks on tenants by letting agents and landlords implemented in the West Midlands since early December has lead to only one fine, revealed a report from the Daily Telegraph.
Right to Rent Pilot Leads to Only One FineDaily Telegraph.
The newspaper says that the penalty was “issued to a landlord, who is appealing the near £2,000 sum, according to sources.”1
The Telegraph, alongside many in the property industry, expect the right to rent checks to be rolled out nationwide this year, however, the Government is awaiting a full assessment of the pilot.
Last week, property consultancy Daniel Watney LLP said that the checks are “unworkable, ludicrous and disproportionate”.1
An immigration charity, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, also revealed that it is working with other organisations to evaluate the pilot scheme when it ends formally this week.
The pilot has been in operation in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Since its introduction, landlords and agents in these parts of the West Midlands have been required to check the immigration status of all new adult tenants, sub-tenants and lodgers entering new tenancies.
Sections 20-37 of the Immigration Act 2014 state that landlords or their agents must check the immigration status of all new adult tenants.
Failure to comply with the rules or provide accommodation to illegal immigrants could result in a fine of £1,000 per tenant and £80 per lodger. These penalties could increase to £3,000 and £500 respectively for repeated offences by landlords and agents.
