MORE INFO
Guidance on the Windrush scheme
Right to Rent document checks: a user guide
News story on Right to Rent checks: what they mean for you
Evaluation of the Right to Rent scheme
Right to Rent checks requires landlords/agents to determine the immigration status of all prospective adult tenants by checking ID before the start of a tenancy. It started as a pilot scheme in parts of the West Midlands before being rolled out across England on 1 February 2016.
As of 30 March 2020 until further notice, arrangements for checks have been amended to allow checks to be made via video call. It remains essential to carry out and document checks in line with the Code of practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation. Find out more...
During COVID-19 related restrictions, applicants may have greater than normal difficulty providing documents, in this case please follow the Code of Practice and use the Landlord Checking Service. Following the lifting of temporary arrangements, those covered by checks made under temporary arrangements will need to be re-checked within eight weeks. We have written to the Home Office outlining the difficulty that agents will have in complying with this. More info...
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Rachel HartleyPropertymark Marketing and Communications Manager
'We have worked with Government extensively to understand their objectives and have helped to shape some of the areas around the scheme. List of accepted ID, user guidance published on gov.uk, levels of enforcement activity and civil penalties and the methods of evaluation used to assess the effectiveness of the scheme are all areas that we’ve talked to the Home Office about.
'The ARLA Propertymark team who are involved in Right to Rent involve Board members who are all experienced practitioners working across the UK. This gives a full range of perspectives and helps to raise a broad range of issues'.
Between 1 Jan and 30 Jun 2021 EU Nationals already resident in the UK, can continue to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. During this period, applicants within the Right to Rent jurisdiction of England, must fulfil the requirements of the check and agents should fix a date for a follow up check.
While it looks likely there will be changes regarding the eligibility to rent based on nationality, it’s important to remember that any future changes cannot be backdated. Where an applicant meets the eligibility criteria, they must not be subject to discrimination.
We have written to the Home Office to warn that large numbers of tenants will not take part in duplicate checks. More info...
We remain part of the Home Office’s Landlord Consultative Panel intending to ensure that certainty for tenants, landlords and agents is achieved as soon as possible in the lead up to Brexit. We continue to remind the Home Office that agents will not be able to determine which of their existing tenants are EU or Swiss nationals.
In March 2019, the High Court delivered a verdict in a case brought to them by parties including the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and the Residential Landlords Association (RLA). Judges ruled that the scheme is leading to discrimination and further evaluation must be carried out before the scheme is rolled out to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In February 2017, ARLA Propertymark board members attended Home Office meetings to represent the concerns of members in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland along with flagging the issues that have been prominent during the early phases of the scheme.
Our member-only fact sheets Immigration Act 2016 and Right to Rent Immigration Checks outline the best advice and what you need to do. More info...
Government guidance for landlords, homeowners and letting agents affected by the Right to Rent checks. More info...
We continue to speak with the Home Office to get answers for the common problems surrounding Right to Rent. More info...