At Let Alliance, we don’t just provide the leading Landlord Building & Contents Insurance policy to advisers across the UK; we also like to keep people informed of the ever-changing landscape of the private residential sector.
As many of you will no doubt be aware, The Home Office announced the rollout of the ‘Right to Rent’ rules within The Immigration Act 2014 from 1st February 2016 in England. There is also the potential that the changes will come in as part of other legislation for Scotland and Wales in the near future. So what does this mean? All Landlords and letting agents in England who allow a tenancy will be required to make ID and Right to Rent checks on all adult occupiers.
The new scheme makes it mandatory for anyone who rents out private property in England to see and make a copy of evidence that any new adult occupier has the right to rent in the UK, be this a ‘continuous’ or ‘time limited’ right to rent. Landlords or letting agents who fail to carry out these checks correctly could be liable for a fine of up to £3,000 per occupier.
Under Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014, a landlord must not authorise an adult to occupy a property as their main or only home under a residential tenancy agreement unless the adult is a British Citizen, Swiss national, from a European Economic Area or has other proof of the right to rent in the UK.
How can Let Alliance help?
Let Alliance provides a specialist Right to Rent Global Reference service but this is only available to our letting agent customers. We do not deal direct with Landlords.
Therefore, if you or your mortgage advice business is connected to a Letting Agent, why not let them know about Let Alliance. Working together, we will make sure you have our specialist Landlord Buildings & Contents Insurance for your valued Buy to Let customers and the Letting Agent can utilise our award winning Referencing, Rent Guarantee & Legal Cover service.
You can find further Right to Rent information on the following websites:
- letalliance.co.uk/letting-agents/global-reference/
- gov.uk/check-tenant-right-to-rent-documents
- arla.co.uk/news/october-2015/right-to-rent-scheme-given-england-go-ahead.aspx
If you wish to speak with the Let Alliance Intermediary Team regarding our specialist Landlord Buildings & Contents Insurance, or to arrange a call with your letting agency, please call 01244 421 167 and we will be more than happy to assist.