ITS OFFICIAL! Right to Rent breaches Criminal Offence from December 2016
On Friday 4th October the Home Secretary announced that failure to comply with the Right to Rent scheme will become a criminal offence from this December.
Under the Immigration Act 2014 it has been an offence to knowingly let a property to an illegal immigrant since 1st February. Landlords are also legally obliged to carry out follow up checks if someone has a time-limited right to rent and are responsible for reporting those without right to rent to the Home Office. Where those who do not comply with this new law can currently face civil penalties, such as fines of up to £3,000.
However, over the last few months, the criminalisation of the Right to Rent scheme has been a hot topic of discussion in the House of Commons.
Amber Rudd confirmed at last weeks Conservative Party Conference that failure to comply with Right to Rent law will become a criminal offence as of December 2016.
So time is of the essence here!
All landlords and letting agents need to make sure that they are aware of their legal duties now, to avoid potential criminal sanctions in the future.
Protecting landlords is always at the forefront of our minds at the TR Group, which is why we launched our very own Home Office Compliant TR Immigration Document Checking Service for landlords and letting agents last month.
Not only can our new service verify whether a tenant has the right to rent in the UK, it is also the cheapest and most comprehensive Immigration Check available on the buy to let market (to-date); at £5 (5 credits) per report.
Find out how this new system works by clicking here.
Got something to say? Please click here to get involved in our live discussion forums now!
Related topics:
Right to Rent clarified
Tenant Referencing for Dummies: Referencing failed half way through / Right to Rent clarification
