Landlords fined over Right to Rent triples in a year
Hundreds of landlords have been fined in a crackdown on illegal immigration. Penalties totalling £163,000 have been issued under the Right to Rent scheme since the start of 2016.
Between April and June this year – the latest statistics available – 76 penalties worth £47,700 were issued. This compared to 14 fines with a total value of £13,800 in the first three months of 2016.
The Right to Rent scheme was introduced in England in February 2016, following a trial in the West Midlands and requires landlords to check prospective tenants’ immigration status and refuse housing to those without the ‘right to rent’ in the UK.
In addition to civil penalties, new criminal sanctions were introduced at the end of last year, meaning landlords could face up to five years in prison and unlimited fines for getting it wrong.
For more information on the Right to Rent scheme, see
www.gov.uk/government/collections/landlords-immigration-right-to-rent-checks
