By Andrew Batt:
UK government plans that would have required all private landlords to confirm the immigration status of their tenants looks set to be amended.
Media reports suggest the new law, which could have seen property owners fined thousands of pounds if found to be letting their property to people without permission to stay in the UK, will now only apply to certain areas where immigrants are known to live in “high occupation” housing.
More than two million property owners were expected to have been impacted by the introduction of the new law, including buyers from Southeast Asia who have purchased London properties to let.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Communities and Local Government said: “The government will avoid burdening the private rented sector with excessive red tape and will not adversely affect UK nationals looking to rent.”
Some industry experts were predicting the original plans would raise the cost of property investments and could discourage buy-to-let investors.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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