Update on Right to Rent Legislation for Lettings Agents

The controversial ‘Right to Rent’ legislation has recently come into force, creating another legal hoop for landlords to jump through.

The new rules mean it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure their tenants can legally rent a property in the UK. So landlords need to check their prospective tenant’s legal documents which show they have a right to live in the country.

Dawn Clarke, head of property management and lettings at Nock Deighton, said landlords should be doing these checks as standard procedure anyway but the new legislation placed an extra burden on them.

She said: “The Right to Rent legislation has certainly created waves in the industry because many feel that landlords are being put in a difficult position.

“The legislation states that landlords are responsible for ensuring that their tenant’s documents are genuine, and people opposing the scheme say it’s unfair to expect landlords to be 100 per cent sure that a passport is not a forgery.

“We have always advised our landlords to take copies of passports and other legal documents before a tenancy is agreed, so if you already doing these checks as a matter of course the new legislation should not be too onerous.

“However, if anyone is concerned they are welcome to give us a call for more advice.”

The property management and lettings team can be contacted on 01952 290163.