Landlords who use letting agents to undertake ‘right to rent’ tenant checks must have a written agreement to this effect if they wish to avoid responsibility – and possible exposure to civil penalties.
This is the advice in revised Landlord’s guide to right to rent checks issued by the Home Office this week.
Such agreements must make clear that:
- the agent is to be responsible for the initial right to rent check and whether or not the agent will be responsible for any follow-up checks for those with a time-limited right to rent;
- the agent must conduct the checks within the timescales laid out in this guidance and the Code of practice on right to rent: civil penalty scheme for landlords and their agents;
- any liability for civil penalties transfers to the agent.
Most significant changes in this guidance from the previous version are to do with changed status of EU nationals, changes to the lists of acceptable documents, and extension to the COVID-19 temporary adjusted right to rent checking process (previously reported in Landlord Knowledge).
