migrant tenants – The government is to start requiring landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants. If they don’t, they will face fines of several thousand pounds.
The move will be announced in tomorrow’s Queen’s speech, which marks the state opening of parliament. It is part of the Immigration Bill, which seeks to crack down on illegal immigration. It sits alongside measures designed to stop employers from taking on illegal immigrants. While the Bill will be welcomed by many, it is expected to face criticism from landlords.
Landlords and government
Voices are already being raised in opposition to the Bill. Its critics argue that it expects landlords and other ordinary people to do work that should be being done by authorities. By asking landlords to carry out checks on their prospective tenants’ immigration status, is the government passing on a responsibility that should be theirs?
The government is struggling to control illegal immigration. In the past, it has urged landlords to use tenant referencing to avoid housing illegal immigrants. The majority of landlords would much rather house someone who is in the UK legally than someone who is not. Aside from the obvious legal issues, there is a significant risk that they will be discovered and asked to leave. However, carrying out reasonable referencing checks is different from being required by law to vet tenants or face hefty fines.
Implementation
It is not yet clear how the government intends to implement its proposals. It is likely that landlords will be asked to take copies of passports and visas before letting a property. Many will already ask for copies of passports before letting as identification. Asking landlords to check that a passport’s owner is legally entitled to stay in the UK is an extra layer of bureaucracy that that will add to landlords’ workloads. There may also be implications for landlords insurance. If a landlord fails to make checks or is duped by fake papers, will that mean they invalidate their insurance policy?
The government has yet state what it expects landlords to do if and when they find illegal immigrants. There is also the risk that the proposals will push illegal immigrants into sub-standard slum accommodation owned by the unscrupulous. This already happens – landlords in parts of West London were recently found to have been housing illegal immigrants in very poor conditions in garages and sheds.
It is clearly not in landlords’ interests to let property to illegal immigrants. Whether this scheme will make honest landlords any less likely to do so remains to be seen.