Legislation requiring U.K. property landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants has had its second reading in parliament, and is widely expected to become law later this year.
Under the proposed law, landlords who fail to document the immigration statuses of tenants will receive fines of up to £3,000, and any landlord who has a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) license will risk losing their license.
“This is a huge responsibility for U.K. property landlords,” said Marc von Grundherr, Lettings Director at Benham & Reeves Residential Lettings.
“Already they have to make identity and credit checks, and now they must ensure that tenants are in the U.K. legally. The intention is to stamp out rogue landlords who let sub-standard accommodation to immigrants, but the problem is rogue landlords probably won’t make the necessary checks anyway while it’s an extra layer of bureaucracy for law abiding landlords.”
The bill also sets a potentially dangerous precedent by requiring landlords and their agents to perform the duties normally ascribed to the police and Border Control Agents. Landlords must also become familiarised with a variety of documents and immigration statuses in order to verify a tenant’s right to remain in the U.K.
Checks must be done annually or when the tenants’ visa ends, and must be performed for all adults living at the property. Some in the industry have pointed out that this will discourage U.K. property landlords from letting to foreign nationals, as well as prohibit discrimination based on ethnicity, name or appearance.
Legal experts admit that a fair amount of secondary legislation will be required to address the many concerns and practical implications of the bill.
Benham & Reeves Residential Lettings strongly encourages landlords to seek advice from a managing agent or legal professional before letting their U.K. property to foreign nationals.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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