{"id":2497,"date":"2016-02-08T09:18:38","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T09:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/?p=2497"},"modified":"2016-02-08T09:19:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T09:19:21","slug":"new-right-to-rent-regime-and-how-to-avoid-a-3000-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.withcreative.co.uk\/lforl\/new-right-to-rent-regime-and-how-to-avoid-a-3000-fine\/","title":{"rendered":"New Right to Rent regime and how to avoid a \u00a33,000 fine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Right-to-rent-check-04\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Monday 1 February marked the first day of the new Right to Right regime being rolled out across England following a trial period in the West Midlands, which means letting landlords and their agents now have legal obligations they must adhere to – or face a hefty penalty.<\/p>\n

Right to Rent was introduced by the Immigration Act 2014 and requires landlords and letting agents allowing a tenancy in England to carry out identification checks on all adult occupiers before the tenancy starts. The government\u2019s aims with the regime were to deter illegal residents and create a fairer and more immigration system, but argument has been raised over whether performing something as serious as immigration checks should be placed upon agent and landlord shoulders. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has claimed that over 90% of landlords haven\u2019t received any official information about the regime, despite the fact they are being placed at risk of financial penalty for failure to comply. The RLA also surveyed 1,500 landlords and found that 72% of them don\u2019t understand their legal responsibilities under the Right to Rent regime. <\/span><\/p>\n

The head of immigration law at Simpson Millar, Sumita Gupta, has stated that the West Midlands trial scheme saw only nine penalties being dished out in a year (all to landlords, none to letting agents), begging the question, is it worth it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever your views, this regime is now the law, and both landlords and agents need to be aware of their responsibilities and how to ensure compliance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are the Right to Rent regime obligations?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Right to Rent obligations rest on the landlord unless it has been agreed to transfer them to the letting agent instead. Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll need to do:<\/span><\/p>\n