Does your tenant have the 'right to rent'?

As promised last year we now have a little more information for you regarding the up and coming new regulations regarding referencing.

A trial is currently being carried out in the West Midlands on behalf of the Home Office and if successful will be rolled out across the country during 2015.

Basically it requires Landlord and Letting Agents to carry out more in depth checks on potential tenants from outside of the EU.  Passport information is to be input into a government database which will flag up any issues which the authorities will then take charge of.  Obviously ID must also be taken and kept on file.

There are mixed feelings surrounding this as arguably the Landlord and Agent are taking on the role of immigration officers.  However, if the Landlord or Agent does not comply and allows a tenant to move in when they shouldn't have done there is a maximum fine of £3000.

We will keep an eye on things and report when this is rolled out across our area. Take a look at our blog for more information on referencing.