The Right to Rent rules were established in 2015, and put the onus on landlords and letting agents to check the immigration status of prospective tenants. Under the rules, landlords are forbidden from renting to those who they have not checked are eligible to stay in the UK.
The Home Office has confirmed that it will be significantly increasing the fines for failing to meet the requirements of the Right to Rent rules, in what it described as “the biggest shake up of civil penalties since 2014”.
Previously, landlords faced a fine of £80 per lodger and £1,000 per occupier for a first breach of the Right to Rent rules. This is being hiked to up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier.
The fines for repeat breaches will move from £500 per lodger and £3,000 per occupier to up to £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier.
The penalties for employers who break the rules are also being dramatically increased, with the new higher fines coming into force from the start of 2024.
The Home Office said that since the start of 2018, more than 320 civil penalties have been issued to landlords as a result of the Right to Rent rules, worth £215,500.
Robert Jenrick (pictured), minister for immigration, said there was “no excuse” for not conducting the appropriate checks.
He continued: “Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings. Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue.”
