22^nd Sep 2015

The results of our poll are in and have some real implications for the success of the government’s planned right to rent checks.

We asked our members (landlords and letting agents) “when the new right to rent checks become compulsory in your area, who will you prefer to rent to?”.

Of almost 300 respondents, almost 50% said they would prefer to rent to British passport holders only and 9% say they won’t be checking at all, so how effective can these checks be expected to be?

In a huge mix of uncertainty and bureaucracy, it seems that for many landlords “playing it safe” and looking for the familiar British passport is a basic preference.

The new right to rent checks could create many challenges for landlords: chasing up multiple legal documents, proving document validity and contacting HMRC about appeals and ongoing immigration applications.

Given the hefty fines landlords are faced with if the checks are not completed, perhaps its natural that landlords will choose to keep the checks as simple as possible to protect themselves and their tenants. Sadly this could negatively affect the ability of some people to find the right home for them in the UK, such as some EU nationals, naturalized British citizens and refugees.

Perhaps the government has placed too much on the shoulders of landlords this time and need more effective controls higher up.

For more information on how to check an applicant’s right to rent, watch our video here.
For information on checking the validity of immigration documents, see the government PDF guide here.











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