In the UK, the ‘Right To Rent’ legislation came into force in February of 2016. Do you know what that means to you as a landlord?
‘Right To Rent’ means that it’s now the responsibility of property landlords to check the eligibility of any prospective tenants to rent a house in the UK. Anyone residing in the United Kingdom legally has the right to rent a home here, whereas those who don’t have legal rights are forbidden from renting a residence.
The ‘Right To Rent’ applies to all property owners who are renting out accommodation, letting agents, rental landlords, and even those who are taking a tenant into their own home. It also applies to anyone subletting a part of or all of their property in either private or social housing.
The ‘Right to Rent’ Check
‘Right To Rent’ binds all landlords in the United Kingdom to carry what’s known as a ‘Right to Rent’ check. While dealing with prospective tenants, the landlords are mandated by law to do so. If they don’t conduct the check before signing the contract and later it turns out that the tenant doesn’t have the legal right to rent a residence in the UK, the landlord could be held liable to pay a civil penalty.
You are encouraged to visit the UK government website to check the details as there are some exemptions to this rule, where accommodation arrangements don’t require the landlord to carry out a ‘Right To Rent’ check. Go through the Code of Practice for illegal immigrants and rented accommodation on the website for complete details.
Existing Tenants
If a rental landlord has taken rental tenants since the ‘Right To Rent’ rule came into force across the UK, the likelihood is that they will already be following the guidelines to carry out the checks. However, if a landlord had sitting tenants in their rental property since before 2016, they are not required to perform the checks, and would not face any civil penalty for failing to do so even if the tenant turns out to be an illegal immigrant.
Who Should A Landlord Check?
There are pretty clear and easy-to-follow rules for landlords when it comes to who should be subject to a Right to Rent check. A rental landlord should check anyone, regardless of nationality, renting out their property who’s over 18 years of age provided they are going to use the home as their main residence. This rule doesn’t only apply to the person the landlord is signing the contract with but also to everyone who is living in the rental property. Their name may or may not appear on the tenancy agreement still they must be checked under the ‘Right To Rent’ rules. Even if the tenancy agreement is an oral one, loosely arranged, or implied, the checks still need to be carried out thoroughly as per the rule.
Any child under 18 years of age that belongs to the tenant at the time of the tenancy agreement will not need to be checked. But if at a later stage the rental agreement is renegotiated and any of those kids have turned 18, the ‘Right To Rent’ check needs to be done. You may think of it as something of an overkill, but in the event of anything being untoward, the landlord will be the one left liable so it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Mentioning All Tenants In The Tenancy Agreement
There is no legal obligation to include the names of everyone in the household in the tenancy agreement, but it’s certainly a sensible and cautious thing to do so. Mentioning the list of tenants is not only an advisable move for landlords for a variety of reasons, but it also eases the task of specifying who needs to be checked and removes any unnecessary ambiguity in the process.
If such things are left on a casual basis in oral or implied tenancy agreements, it leaves the landlord liable and open, so it’s always advised to work in the necessary amount of formality into dealings.
Hire Letting Agent To Conduct The Checks
Many hands-off type property landlords like to get everything managed by a letting agent including Right to Rent checks and they are allowed to do so by law as well. The only requirement is that there must be a written agreement in place that mentions all the responsibilities of the letting agent with regards to initial and ongoing checks.
One important thing to note here is that the rules governing the ‘Right To Rent’ checks state that the agent can’t pass on the liability and instruct someone else to carry the checks on their behalf. A landlord must ensure that whichever way they do it, they are water-tight and not open to any financial penalties.
Final Thoughts
The landlords should not regard the ‘Right To Rent’ check as an optional part of the rental process. Civil penalties are a serious matter and there is nothing optional about it. A landlord will have to pay a substantial penalty if they are found to have tenants who have no legal right to be there. For any landlord who is unsure about their current situation, we’d recommend them to talk to their local property letting specialist about the steps they need to take to protect themselves.
Alternatively, landlords can check the UK government website page themselves on the subject where they will find everything they need to know in detail. Every landlord must make sure they are compliant and protected or they could be left counting the cost.
