James Brokenshire announces trial scheme to begin in the areas of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has today announced that the requirement for landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants under the Immigration Act 2014 will be trialled in the areas of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell.
The trial will begin in these areas on 1st December.
In addition to the announcement, the Home Office published a Code of Practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation. You can read it here.
The code of practice notes: "Under section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 a landlord must not authorise an adult to occupy property as their only or main home under a residential tenancy agreement unless the adult is a British citizen, or EEA or Swiss national, or has a 'right to rent' in the UK. Someone will have the 'right to rent' in the UK provided they are present lawfully in accordance with immigration laws."
Landlords face a penalty of up to £1,000 for the first breach of section 22 of the Act, and up to £3,000 for any subsequent breaches.
A Home Office news story states that landlords will need to see evidence of a person’s identity and citizenship, for example a passport or biometric residence permit. Copies of the documentation will need to be taken as evidence the checks have been carried out and retained for one year after the tenancy ends. Children under 18 will not need to be checked.
Brokenshire's full statement to the Commons was as follows:
I am announcing today the location in which the measures relating to landlords as prescribed by sections 20-37 of the Immigration Act 2014 will first be implemented. The Immigration Act 2014 contains a range of measures to reform and streamline the immigration system and address illegal immigration. It introduces restrictions on illegal immigrants accessing rented housing. When these provisions come into force, landlords will be prohibited from letting residential accommodation to people who have been disqualified by virtue of their immigration status.
The government has committed to a phased implementation of these provisions with the measures initially coming into force in one location, followed by an evaluation to inform decisions on further roll-out. I wish to inform the House that after careful consideration, the scheme is to be implemented first in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Sandwell. The new measures will commence in this area from 1 December.
To assist and advise the implementation and evaluation of the measures, the government is convening a consultative panel. The panel consists of bodies that represent landlords, letting agents, housing and homeless charities and others with an informed interest in the matter, and will also include representatives from the local authorities in these areas. This will ensure that the first phase can be thoroughly evaluated and considered as part of the decision making process on further roll-out.
As reported by the Guardian in December 2013, Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights has warned that the scheme will give rise to homelessness and discrimination.