For the sake of appeasing a handful of Tory backbenchers and shoring up the UKIP vote, the government may have just heaped another burden on already hard-pressed tenants.
It will be announced in the Queen’s speech later today that private landlords are to be made legally responsible for ensuring tenants have a legal right to live in the UK before arranging a letting.
Much like the government’s announcement over the weekend on pensions for foreign spouses, this latest policy proposal looks very much like red meat thrown out there by the government to fend of the threat from UKIP.
According to the Telegraph, the level of fines for those landlords which fail to properly check the immigration status of their tenants may run into ‘thousands of pounds’.
What, though, is to stop letting agencies and landlords passing this cost (presumably it costs something to check a person’s immigration status) on to already squeezed tenants?
According to a report which came out in January, rents in England are increasing by an average of £300 a year. As well as making increasingly swaths of the country uninhabitable for all but the most affluent, the cost of rent is also making it harder for young would-be homeowners to save the money to buy their first property.
As far as I can make out, there is nothing to stop landlords and lettings agencies tacking yet another ‘administration fee’ on to the initial cost of securing a tenancy when the government’s latest ‘get tough with the foreigners’ policy comes in.
Checking the immigration status of a tenant will undoubtedly cost landlords and agencies money, but it will almost certainly cost tenants more – much like the ‘administration fee’ levied by lettings agencies (£200 – £400 on average) at present tends to be higher than the cost to the agent of filling out and sending away a couple of forms.
For the sake of appeasing a handful of Tory backbenchers and shoring up the UKIP vote, the government may well have just heaped another burden on already hard-pressed renters.
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8 Responses to “What’s to stop landlords passing the cost of immigration checks on to already squeezed tenants?”
voteukiporwearefinished
To answer your question, nothing. Once again the poorest pay the highest price for out of control immigration.
Anthony Masters
Making landlords quasi-agents for the neo-Border Agency is hardly a good idea. Whilst the policy is being “aimed” at immigrants living in HMOs, it is actually a uniform measure across all rents.
Two things are likely to happen: rents will increase to cover the costs of these immigrations status checks, and some landlords will prefer tenants who’s status can be easily verified, such as anyone with an EU passport. Anyone lacking a cheap verification will face higher rents or greater difficulty in signing tenancy agreements.
John
This measure is awful in every way. Aside from the additional costs to resident tenants, anyone who is living illegally will just be pushed further into the arms of even less legitimate landlords. While the right might claim this is their own fault for living illegally in the first place these people are not simply going to disappear (much as they might like to). It will further diminish their living standards and push them towards crime and create further social problems.
Illegal immigration is no ideal, but kicking people out of the system completely into the arms of people who work outside any system won’t help anyone.
gary bartlett
LRS £4.99 – I’m not worried about that at all!
The real villains are the letting agents who are robbing people blind with extortionate and unjustified fees – long may they suffer the wrath of the forthcoming legislation coming their way
That is why, in 20 years I can count the number of times I’ve used them on one hand….
Scot-lord
As a landlord I think neither tenants nor landlords will want this. It’s ridiculous to put this cost on landlords as a result of the failure of govt to prevent illegal immigration. What’s next, landlords to man speeding traps or intervene in bar brawls ? Others have said, rightly, that tenants are pooly placed to pay for it too. Here in Scotland I haven’t been able to raise rent to cover the increased cost to me since letting agents can’t now charge for credit checks so I wont be able to recoup the immigration check either. Yet when a tenant leaves with rent due I have to lump it. If I don’t check immigations status I’m going to be landed with a large fine. Not all landlords are making money hand over fist, especially not in this area. Seriously considering selling up, the unintended consequences will be fewer landlords, fewer rental properties, higher rent. All to appease a bunch xenophobic a$%eho£es !