Landlords will be able to end tenancy without a court order under new plans to tackle illegal immigration

Landlords will be able to end tenancy without a court order under new plans to tackle illegal immigration

10:24 AM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago 18

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Under “Right to Rent” proposals in the upcoming Immigration Bill the Home Office would issue a notice when an asylum application fails that confirms the tenant no longer has the right to rent property.Greg Clark

This will then give landlords the ability to end the tenancy without a court order in some circumstances.

Financial support for failed asylum seekers will also end under the proposals with approximately 10,000 currently continuing to receive an allowance of £36 a week, because they are living in the UK with their families even though their applications have been rejected.

Measures will also be introduced to crack down on landlords who exploit vulnerable migrants by renting out unfit flats and houses. The Immigration Bill will include a responsibility for landlords similar to employers to check passports and ID cards to confirm tenants have a right to reside. Please see our previous article regarding the Immigration Bill receiving Royal assent >> http://www.property118.com/immigration-bill-now-law/65819/#comments

The flurry of political activity and News coverage comes on the back of all the recent troubles in Calais.

Setting up a  blacklist of  landlords and letting agents will allow councils to keep track of those who have been convicted of housing offences and ban them from renting out properties if they are repeat offenders.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said “the government was targeting people who made money by exploiting vulnerable people and undermining our immigration system.”

“We will also require them to meet their basic responsibilities as landlords, cracking down on those who rent out dangerous, dirty and overcrowded properties.”

Chief executive of the National Landlords Association Richard Lambert, said “the proposals were a welcome step forward. I am slightly concerned that we are breaking the 40-year-old principle that it has to be a court that ends a tenancy,but we do need something that will work in practice.”

Mr Lambert told Radio 4 the possible five-year prison penalty for renting to illegal immigrants was “quite surprising and had come almost out of the blue”.

“You do wonder how much it relates to the government wanting to be seen to be tough on migration given what’s going on in Calais. I think that we need to think through the consequences of the kind of systems we are putting into place.”


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Comments

Dr Rosalind Beck

15:52 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

I read the report on this this morning in The Daily Mail. There were two articles next to each other: the one was a scaremongering one about Calais, designed to get everyone in Britain panicky that we were being immediately overrun; the one next to it had a headline and introduction implying that landlords were to blame for this! Well if Border Control worked, there wouldn't be any illegal immigrants. Landlord-bashing again!
NB. Further down in the article it became clear that it was in fact a milder measure and landlords would only be jailed if they wouldn't issue notice to an illegal immigrant and/or were 'repeat offenders.' (can't remember the exact wording.)
But there was a sinister juxtaposition of the 'Calais crisis' with the 'rogue landlords' again!
Just a few days ago there was an article about asylum seekers staying legally in hotels...

chris wright

15:58 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

Jail is the last sanction agreed but lets face it the criminal record alone will muck up your business and personal life and probably end your BTL portfolio. Once again the govt are going to make the little guy or gal carry the can for their failure to enfoce laws they already have and can't be bothered to enforce.

Romain Garcin

17:24 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

We'll need to wait and see the details in th Bill as being able to end the tenancy without a court order does not necessarily imply the right to actually evict.
Trying to 'privately' forcibly evict someone seems like a very bad idea...

Why not add a new mandatory ground under section 8 proceedings?

chris wright

17:50 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

That might be correct bear in mind you can remove anyone who doesnt have a tenancy - adult children living at home springs to mind, had a few cases of those over the years - the homeowner couldnt get eviction as there was no tenancy, which seems to be what the govt are saying - refusal of right to remain will be fatal to a tenancy agreement and it ceases to exist - repudiation by default, you then politely ask them to go and of course they leave ! In reality you'll be calling the cops.

Romain Garcin

17:58 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "chris wright" at "03/08/2015 - 17:50":

Ah but this is a civil matter unless they also plan to make over-staying a criminal offense, so cops won't be interested and tell you to go to court.

Romain Garcin

18:07 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

In any case, I think the tenant will not want the authorities to catch up with him since he will be facing deportation, and so I guess he will quickly disappear.

Michael Barnes

18:37 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

Having listened to Radio 4 this morning, it seems to me this will just force such people into the hands of criminal/unscrupulous landlords once they have left their accommodation.

If a person's right to remain in the country has expired, then the authorities should take action to expell that person from the country, not just require to the landlord (presumably at his expense) to evict the person.

Jay James

18:54 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Romain Garcin" at "03/08/2015 - 17:24":

"being able to end the tenancy without a court order does not necessarily imply the right to actually evict". I had the same thought. How many times have we heard of tenancies ending but people remain in the property? Depending on how the Act is formed, landlords may end up with a statutory duty to deal with immigrants but unable to evict without cumbersome proceedings. We shall have to wait and see if our law makers do their job properly.

Pat A

19:20 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Ros ." at "03/08/2015 - 15:52":

NO checks for hotels and B&B's

And there are a lot of very cheap hotels and B&B's around

Luke P

21:54 PM, 3rd August 2015, About 9 years ago

S.8 will take ages to get a Court date and even then they won't budge without bailiff/HCEO.

Not our problem. It's like asking a robbery victim to investigate their attackers crime but then threatening them with sanctions/prison if they fail to successfully have them charged.

The UKVI should be preventing entry and deporting those already illegally here.

A regional radio station called my office this morning for my comment on this news. I will be recording an interview with them tomorrow.

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