View all articles
The government has announced new measures that give landlords the right to evict illegal tenants without the need for a court order. This follows on from previous announcements that landlords will be expected to check tenants’ immigration status before agreeing a lease; landlords who repeatedly fail to check their tenants’ status could end facing fines or a five year jail sentence.
******Whoops! Looks like this is an old post that isn’t relevant any more :/ ******
******Visit the blog home page for the most up to date news. ******
New Immigration Rules for Landlords
The new proposals will be included in the new Immigration Bill. At the moment it is a criminal offence to kick out a tenant without a court order, but under the new rules, landlords can remove illegal tenants as soon as they receive notification from the Home Office that the an asylum application has failed and the tenant no longer has the right to remain in the UK. The NLA welcomes this part of the proposal:
“If landlords are to be asked to take on the responsibility of policing access to rented homes they must be able to end tenancies swiftly and without undue costs. This is the absolute minimum necessary to enable landlords to carry out this new duty and is a welcomed move.”
However, the NLA has expressed concern about the possible ramifications of such a policy.
“Tenants, facing eviction and potential deportation, are likely to be unpredictable and the NLA is worried that landlords may be unprepared to balance the requirement to meet their new legal obligations with the practical matter of ending a tenancy in what could be stressful and possibly confrontational circumstances.”
There is also some confusion over who (landlord or Home Office) is expected to pay for bailiffs if a tenant refuses to vacate the property.
