Under the Right to Rent Scheme, civil penalty fines for non-compliance have increased significantly today (13 February 2024), with penalties of up to £20,000 for landlords and lettings agents who fail to comply with the rules.
All landlords in England have a responsibility to prevent those without lawful immigration status from accessing the private rented sector. You do this by conducting right to rent checks on all prospective adult tenants before the start date of a tenancy agreement, to make sure the person is not disqualified from renting a property by reason of their immigration status.
From today, the civil penalty for landlords and letting agents will be raised from £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier, to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier for a first breach. Repeat breaches will be up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier, up from £500 and £3,000 respectively. The increase was first announced in August 2023, as part of a wider government crackdown on illegal renting in the UK.
Legislation to limit access to the private rental property sector only to those with the lawful right to be in the UK was introduced through sections 20 to 37 of the Immigration Act 2014 (the 2014 Act). Under section 28 of the 2014 Act, a landlord who enters into a tenancy agreement with a disqualified person may be subject to a civil penalty. The Immigration Act 2016 (the 2016 Act) introduced a criminal offence of knowingly letting to someone disqualified from renting a property. The 2016 Act also set out how a landlord can end a tenancy due to a tenant’s immigration status.
