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The government has published wholesale changes to the way prospective tenants from the European Union are treated during right to rent checks. The guidance comes a mere five years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (EU) and adds clarification for landlords and prospective tenants alike. Once the changes have come into effect, applicants from the European Union will face similar checks to other non-UK nationals.
What is Changing?
As of the 1st of July 2021, European citizens and their families require immigration status in the UK. Going forward, this means that prospective tenants from the European Union (including the EEA and Switzerland) must prove their immigration status to comply with right to rent.
The changes will add an additional burden of checks onto landlords, especially those who let properties in city centre locations which are more likely to attract international tenants.
EU Nationals: Permanent Right to Rent
Commencing on the 1st of July, citizens from European Union states will no longer be able to rely on their passport or national identity cards to confirm their nationality and right to rent. They will be required to provide additional evidence of having a lawful immigration status in the UK, bringing them in line with other foreign nationals.
Despite the updated guidance, many European passport holders will still benefit from permanent right to rent through a range of different criteria:
- Irish nationals retain a permanent right to rent and can demonstrate this by providing landlords with a passport or certificate identifying their Irish citizenship.
- EU nationals can evidence their permanent right to rent by providing a current residence card.
- Many EU nationals have applied for settled status which, if granted, gives the applicant a continuous right to rent (see ‘How can landlords check an EU citizen’s right to rent?’).
- Where an application to stay or remain in the UK has been made before 30th of June 2021 and the tenant does not have any documentation, landlords can refer to the Government’s Landlord Checking Service to seek confirmation.
EU Nationals: Time-Limited Right to Rent
Whilst EU nationals may no longer enjoy the same benefits they used to; they will still retain a privileged position in comparison to applicants from around the rest of the world. Citizens from the European Union will join those from the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea in being able to more easily prove their time-limited right to rent. Applicants from these countries can let a property for up to 12 months without requiring a follow-up right to rent check. To prove their right to rent, such applicants need only provide their passport and a proof of entry (boarding pass) from within the last six months.
How Can Landlords Check an EU Citizen’s Right to Rent?
Citizens from the European Union can prove their right to rent using the Home Office’s online checking service. Any citizen that has made a successful application to the EU Settlement Scheme will have been provided with digital evidence of their immigration status and can prove their right to rent using the Home Office online checking service ‘prove your right to rent in England’.
Applicants from the EU can provide landlords with a share code and their date of birth. This will allow landlords to check the applicants Home Office immigration status via the Home Office portal.
Using the Home Office’s online service can allow landlords to carry out checks via video calls without the need to see or check an individual’s documents. This is because the online service provides a real time confirmation of an applicant’s right to rent. However, landlords must still verify the likeness between the individual and their photographs and retain evidence of the online check.
What About Current Tenants?
There is no requirement for landlords to carry out retrospective checks on EU citizens who have entered into a tenancy agreement prior to the 1st of July deadline. Tenancies which began before this date will be excused from civil penalty so long as the initial right to rent was conducted if applicable.
* Please note that for brevity, this article has used ‘EU citizens’ as a catch all term which includes European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss citizens.
Disclaimer: This ‘Landlord Vision’ blog post is produced for general guidance only, and professional advice should be sought before any decision is made. Nothing in this post should be construed as the giving of advice. Individual circumstances can vary and therefore no responsibility can be accepted by the contributors or the publisher, Landlord Vision Ltd, for any action not taken, or any decision made to refrain from action, by any readers of this post. All rights reserved. No part of this post may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the contributors and Landlord Vision do not accept liability for any direct, indirect, special, consequential or other losses or damages of whatsoever kind arising from using this post.
