No change to Right to Rent if we leave the EU without a deal

No change to Right to Rent - yet.

The government announced last week that there will be no changes to the right to rent for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members living in the UK until 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Landlords should
continue to follow current Home Office guidance on how to check a tenant’s right to rent.

Tenants will be able
to prove their right to rent using:

• their passport or national identity
  card if they are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen


• their residence card issued by the
  Home Office if they’re a non-EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family member

You have a duty not to
discriminate against tenants on the grounds of their race or nationality. You
cannot require EU, EEA or Swiss citizens to show you that they have status
under the EU Settlement Scheme or European temporary leave to remain when
entering into new tenancy agreements until 1 January 2021.

Irish citizens will continue to prove their right to rent in the UK
as they do now.

You should continue to
conduct right to rent checks on all prospective tenants to comply with the code of practice on illegal immigrants and private rented
accommodation and the code of practice for landlords: avoiding unlawful
discrimination.

A new immigration
system will apply to people arriving on or after 1 January 2021. You will not
be required to undertake retrospective checks on existing EU, EEA or Swiss
tenants when the new system is introduced.

Landlords should not be expected to act as immigration officers. It is stressful and can lead to bias in favour of tenants who do not require the additional hassle of carrying out checks. But until any new system is introduced this has become a fact of life for anyone renting property. So download the guidance, follow the rules and if you have any problems, contact the Landlords’
Helpline on 0300 069 9799.

14/10/2019
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