I think sometimes legislation can be forgotten! Not by us I’d like to stress but by the industry as a whole.  When its introduced there is a lot of ‘hype’ and information in trade literature and then 1 year on dangerously it all disappears, never to be mentioned again under the assumption that everyone is doing what they should be.

I feel the RIGHT TO RENT LEGISLATION falls into this category.

To summarise, as of 1st February 2016 landlords and their agents must check that a tenant can legally rent residential property in England. Under Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 a Landlord should not authorise an adult to occupy a property as their only or main home under a residential tenancy agreement unless the adult is a British citizen, or EEA or Swiss National, or has a ‘right to rent’ in the UK.

As an Agent we must;

-       Establish that the adults that will live at a property will do so as their only or main residence

-       Obtain original versions of one or more acceptable documents

-       Check documents in the presence of holder, copy documents and date

Acceptable documents are from List A, group 1 (single) or group 2 (combination)

Click here to see a copy of the list and government guide

You also need to have a plan in place to ensure that where a person has a time limited right to remain in the UK, acceptable documents will be from List B & checks should be undertaken not more than 28 days before the AST comes into effect with follow up checks being required.

Landlords that fail to check a potential tenants right to rent will face penalties of up to £3000 per tenant – so it’s not worth ignoring!

If you’re not sure what to do or you’re not sure whether your tenants have the Right to Rent your house then please do not hesitate to contact the office. As always, we are here to help with any queries you may have.

Sarah