Guidance that has been urgently awaited by letting agents and landlords on checking the immigration status of prospective tenants has been  finally issued.

Most of it appears to fall well short of anything that could be described as useful.

The Home Office document is called ‘Factsheet: Tackling illegal immigration in privately rented accommodation”.

For a ‘factsheet’ it seemed somewhat short on facts, although Eye has managed to extract the following.

FACT 1: It gives no date for when the requirement will kick in, merely saying “late autumn”.

FACT 2: It says that landlords – or agents acting on their behalf – will need to make checks in “some areas”, but does not name where, but then goes on to say: “At first, the requirement will apply in just one area” but again does not say where.

FACT 3: There is no hint of how large the pilot area will be – for example, a high street, or the whole of the midlands?

FACT 4: The document also says, somewhat vaguely, “The requirements may apply more widely from 2015”.

FACT 5: The Government says it will announce the trial area in September – but it does not say whether this will be the beginning or end of the month, potentially giving agents and landlords very little time to prepare.

FACT 6: Yet, as the factsheet says, failure to comply could result in a civil penalty of up to £3,000.

FACT 7: Next month, when it announces the trial area, the Home Office will also publish draft Codes of Practice.

FACT 8: However, even “next month” might not be correct, as the document ends by saying: “All information in this factsheet was correct at the time of publishing but is subject to change.”

FACT 9: The Home Office does insist in the factsheet that checks will be “very simple” and says: “We’re not asking landlords to become immigration experts.”

FACT 10: In most cases, landlords and agents will need to obtain and copy a document such as a passport or biometric residence permit.

FACT 11: Where they need to contact the Home Office helpline for status verification, because the tenant has an outstanding immigration application or the Home Office has their documents, a clear yes or no will be provided within two working days.

FACT 12: If an answer has not been received within two working days, the agent or landlord can go ahead and let the property to the tenant without risk of a penalty.

FACT 13: The requirement for landlords and agents to check the immigration status of prospective tenants is in the Immigration Act.

FACT 14: Next month, the Home Office says it will also give:

• guidance and a full list of documents which can be used to prove a right to rent
• an online aid to help landlords and tenants understand if they are affected and how to conduct a check
• a local rate telephone helpline
• a checking service for more complex cases.

FACT 15: However – just remember, it’s all “subject to change”.

FACT 16: The document originally appeared via one official link, but was then mysteriously removed, put up again and taken down again. Eye queried this with the Home Office and have now been supplied this link – which does work.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341876/Factsheet_Landlords_Aug_14.pdf