Well the government have finally made an announcement regarding the implementation of the Immigration Act.
No doubt all landlords who do not have property in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell will be heaving a big sigh of relief.
Those who do have properties in those areas will be anxiously wondering how this is going to affect them. As if they get things wrong they could be fined up to £3,000.
So whats it all about?
Here is part of the ministerial statement :
The Immigration Act 2014 contains a range of measures to reform and streamline the immigration system and address illegal immigration. It introduces restrictions on illegal immigrants accessing rented housing.
When these provisions come into force, landlords will be prohibited from letting residential accommodation to people who have been disqualified by virtue of their immigration status.
Sounds simple, but immigration is a notoriously tricky area. How are landlords supposed to know whether someone is disqualified or not?
The government have put several resources online to help landlords. There is a code of practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation, but on the first page it is described as a ‘working draft’. This may mean that it will be changed, which is a bit worrying for landlords and their agents faced with having to get to grips with it before December.
A short leaflet however claims that in most cases it will just take a few minutes to do the check as all the landlord will need to do is check the tenants passport or biometric residents permit.
If the tenants don’t have the right documents, the leaflet goes on to say that landlords can request a check using an online form and will get an answer within two days. Hmmm.
There is also a ‘right to rent tool’ and a helpline on 0300 069 9799.
The new rules will only apply to new tenancies starting after 1 December in the pilot area and landlords will not need to check the immigration status of existing tenants.
Only the private sector is targeted, as the rules do not apply to social landlords or to non commercial organisations wholly or partially funded by government or a Local Authority.
It sounds straightforward, but how will it all work out in practice?
Initial Reaction
The RLA (Residential Landlords Association) are not happy about it, believing that it will jeopardise good landlord and tenant relationships, and a survey carried out among their members shows that 82% of landlords oppose the plan.
Chris Town, the RLA Vice Chair commented
Many British people do not have a passport and for those tenants on housing benefits, without passports, this will create an added difficulty for landlords.
Whilst the RLA fully supports measures to ensure everyone in the UK legally resides here, this policy continues to smack of political posturing rather than a seriously thought through policy.
For a Government committed to reducing the burden of red tape it is ironic that they are now seeking to impose a significant extra burden on landlords making them scapegoats for the UK Border Agency’s failings.”
Nearly Legal quotes some particuarly obstruse papragraphs from the ‘working draft’ and comments on the scheme in general that
It places a significant burden and indeed risk on landlords, faced with – to put it mildly – hideously complicated issues of immigration and residence status.
As a result, it will certainly result in ‘safety first’ acts of discrimination against potential tenants whose right to reside in the UK is not glaring obvious, like a UK passport.
In their report, Property Industry Eye points out that we are currently in a time of heightened national security amid international tensions. Is this really the best time to start a new scheme of this nature?
We hope to be able to provide some more information and guidance to landlords on the new immigration rules soon. If you are interested in this and would like to be kept informed please click here.
A six month pilot commencing in December will last longer than the period of this parliament, which as the election has to be held on 5 May will end in the middle of April.
Will the national implementation last into the period of a new government?
Very true. What do the other parties say about it – does anyone know? Have Labour said they would ditch it?
A number of Lib Dem Peers were very cautious of implementation and analysed the Bill line by line. (Lady Hamwee amongst others) and I understand from Hansard that they decided that the pilot will be subject to a positive vote in the HoL. The Hansard report did not show any major Labour peers having intervened in the debate.
I hate the legislation, but Property Industry Eye’s argument against it is hardly sound. If we are experiencing a state of “heightened national security amid international tensions” then I would say it’s exactly the right time to be checking that people are allowed to live in this country. It’s just that it shouldn’t be a landlord’s responsibility to do so.
Anyone who’s an actual threat will manage, don’t worry. For them the problem is not to let them in.
These new checks will hurt the average person and push some illegal residents into the arms of the dodgiest landlords.
The use will be mostly to have more ‘bullets’ to use against these dodgiest landlords, though obviously anyone could get hit.
The problem is in the details….
If we could just make all possible tenants go to the post office to get their ID checked and “right to rent” check at their costs, and then have a standard document that has a reference number we can check on line, with their photo, it would be easy and not an issue.
The postoffice should then compensate a landlord if the ID turns out to be fake.
If someone presents you with an out-of-date passport – is that sufficient? Or do they have to go to the expense of getting a new one (at least £72.50 for a UK passport).
I ask this having had awful problems obtaining a mortgage when both my and my partners passports were less than a month out of date, so I know it is an issue. The Government shelved plans for ID cards, but job applications and id for banks and building societies simply now require a passport instead.
I’ve been trained to spot fraudulent and interfered with immigration documents and in our office we have specialist optical equipment and access to subscription websites which help us identify things and trust me…………its a bloody minefield.
I truly believe that this legislation is simply immigration control without having to take on the EU in high profile legal battles.
The landlords I talk to say they will simply not let to anyone who they think might be vaguely “Foreign”, and why would anyone when faced with a £3,000 fine? so this is merely going to push the most vulnerable people further into the arms of parasite landlords and criminal gangs who can max up their rental income by cramming people into roof spaces and under floors, which is what I see in my job as a London housing enforcement officer EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! Its normal and ongoing, not the stuff of the occasional Panorama documentary which then moves on to something else more titillating.
For landlords its inconvenient, for society its something far more pervasive
Oh and as a PS…did you know that under the British Nationalities Act 1981 it is entirely possible to have been born here 33 years ago and yet still not be a British citizen? It depends on what your parents did,if they stayed out of country for a proscribed period etc. Thats how mad it gets
Ben,
This may be the first time that I have agreed with you 100%!
Haha Ian? I’m speechless!!!!!!!!
We run 4 houses for refused asylum seekers from where we try and find a way back into the system for them. As you say, this is a way of pushing immigration work onto landlords rather than the authorities doing it themselves. We’ve seen it happen with social workers and it’s beginning in the health service. The range and complexity of immigration law is mind boggling. What about a Somali Refugee, recognised in Romania, arriving with no paperwork and a wife! That’s one we struggled with recently. We’re going to try and shelter under one of the ‘hostel’ exemptions but the Home Office know where we are and what we do for 10 years and you’d have to ask the question why haven’t they closed us down. Maybe it’s because we perform a useful function for them. We have over 200 destitute refused AS on the books. As you say, if they are driven into the hands of the unscrupulous, only bad things can happen. Cheers Ewan
Ewan – thanks for your comment and I have every sympathy with you.
We are contemplating putting on some training – if people are interested there is a form here https://tb128.infusionsoft.com/app/page/34928e98ec9fc7f6e8de821af41c69b6
Thanks Tessa – I’ve plugged in my details. We have our own Social Worker and it might be Durani that attends if it’s on as well as our Destitution Manager (snappy title). We’ve had so much hassle from Job Centres over paperwork for people who HAVE leave to remain, never mind trying to recognise one’s who don’t. It’s horrible. Cheers Ewan