Landlords worried about the forthcoming Right to Rent checks coming into for under the Immigration Act 2014 on 1 December in West Midlands need to watch this interview with Solicitor David Smith.
David, speaking at the recent NALS Conference, raises the worrying problem that many British people simply will not have passports or other ID documents which can be used for the checks.
This video first appeared on the Property Tribes forum which is well worth reading.
Our series on Right to Rent From Immigration and Eligibility expert Sue Lukes can be found via the links below:
Finally, it may be worth checking out the service provided by Landlord Referencing Service.
I agree with a lot of what David has to say here. I have grave concerns regarding third party “referencing” companies claiming they can assist in this subject area. I am a former police officer and have held many counterfeit documents in my hand and simply not been able to tell the fact that they are fraudulent. This begs the question how do third party companies identify documents sent via electronic media, perhaps I am a little IT illiterate here? These, surely, cannot identify watermarks, holographic ID marks etc.
I strongly advocate the use of the government site that is mentioned too briefly at the end of this clip. Logic applies here.
Ask for a National insurance card/ ID number. They must have already been checked to have one. If they somehow do not know this then ask to see a wage slip it should have it on there. Ask to see a passport and remember that any documents you see / act upon must be copied and stored until at least 12 months after the tenancy ends. If in doubt refer to the government web site for advice, not commercial companies.