Partner Article

Immigration bill puts further onus on landlords and agents claims PWR Lettings

As the controversial Immigration Bill has now received Royal Assent, becoming the Immigration Act, a Nottingham based property consultancy has voiced its concerns that this is further red tape for letting agents and landlords.

PWR Property Consultants, with offices in Nottingham and Mansfield, has warned that although this latest move will hopefully drive some rogue tenants and landlords out of the market, there will be yet another cost for those in the industry when it comes to processing this information.

The new legislation will mean that both letting agents and landlords will need to ensure that all tenants have a “Right to Rent” going forward. As a result, extra checks on prospective tenants looking to rent a property will need to be made before they are allowed to move in to ensure that they are not living in the UK illegally.

Simon Perkins, Partner at PWR, said: “The hope is that by requiring private landlords to check the immigration status of tenants, it will prevent those with no right to live in the UK from accessing private rented housing.

“There is huge concern against letting agents and landlords, that many will not be equipped to correctly interpret the complex documents that even border officials have difficulties understanding. Those who fail to understand these documents could be left with a hefty fine”

Landlords Hub has previously suggested that these background checks could even be dangerous for landlords. However, officials maintain that rather than relying on their own knowledge and experience, landlords can use the services of an approved Letting Agency to carry out background checks.

For more information, please visit www.pwrlettings.co.uk

PWR Property Consultants are represented by Tina Clough at Poppy-PR, www.poppy-pr.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Poppy-PR .