14th
Aug 2015
Just over nine months ago at the beginning of December 2014, the government ran a pilot of the Right to Rent scheme across the West Midlands and by its own figures it is a dismal failure.
Only seven landlords have been fined, which was brought to light by The Economist as it requested the figures under the Freedom of Information Act.
The penalised landlords have received average fines of just £800.
The Guardian newspaper reports, from one of its investigations, that less than 50% of tenants wishing to rent homes in the area have actually been requested by lettings agents and landlords to show proof of their right to stay in the United Kingdom.
The Guardian also reports that that there may be cases where many landlords could be accused of being discriminatory against prospective foreign tenants.
The newspaper sent undercover reporters claiming to be from overseas who were stopped from renting homes, by more than one in three occasions – eleven out twenty seven applications were refused.
Landlords in the West Midlands, or their letting agents could have faced fines of as much as £3,000 if it was proved that they had not carried out the necessary checks, or were aware that their tenants were illegal immigrants.
The Guardian says these investigations suggest the pilot has failed.
The government by its own admittance has not yet finished its summation of the Right to Rent pilot scheme. It has recently announced that landlords or lettings agents could receive a potential five years prison sentence if proven to have broken the law repeatedly.
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