A major national letting's agent advises landlords that although the "right to rents" check has only be introduced into the west midlands, that they should still remain on guard throughout the rest of the country.

The head of the lettings agent, Lisa Simon, says that despite the pilot scheme being introduced on the 1st December in one part of the country, that landlords must be fully prepared for the National roll out in 2015.
 
Simon said: “While the West Midlands will be the trial area, there’s already been confusion over issuing guidance and the start date. Landlords who think they are unaffected cannot afford to be complacent as they’re not off the hook because there is no confirmed timetable for bringing checks to other areas,

 
“Landlords should read the Home Office code of practice, worryingly still only a working draft when a definitive guide should have been in place for the launch of the scheme. They should familiarise themselves with what it sets out and make sure they are prepared. There’s already been confusion with the government issuing guidelines, withdrawing them, and reissuing them unchanged in the space of 24 hours.”
 
As reported previously, the new legislation will make it mandatory practice for landlords to carry out the "right to check" immigration status of all new prospective tenants. Failure to do so could meant that they could face fines of up to £3,000. The government has said that landlords must inspect and make copies of biometric residence permits or passports and keep them for one year after the tenancy has ended.

The majority of checks will not need to involve the  immigration team. The Home Office has to be involved using their case checking service, to authenticate any prospective tenants that do not have the correct documents. They will then let the landlord know if there is an outstanding immigration application from that person, or it has their documents.

If after two working days the landlord is not notified of a yes or no answer from The Home Office, then they are within their rights to rent the property to the prospective tenant without any fear of repercussions.