Understanding Right to Rent Rules

The Keywest team is always available to help Leicester landlords understand the laws regarding property lettings and to ensure that they fully comply with regulations and the new Right to Rent Rules

If you choose to allow us to let your property, you can rely on us to take care of the necessary legalities, but it can still pay to understand the legalities of letting, especially if you decide to take on the management of your property yourself.

One of the major legal responsibilities of any Leicester landlord – or the agent they choose to use – is ensuring that tenants are entitled to live and rent in this country. These right to rent checks should be made by agents, landlords or even householders planning to take in a lodger or sublet part of the property in which they live, regardless of whether they live in social or private housing.

The idea of right to rent responsibilities was introduced for private landlords along with the Immigration Act 2014. It means that landlords must know that anybody given the permission to stay in a property has the right immigration status to be there. Failing to check out a person’s immigration status can lead to fines and other penalties, including imprisonment.

Right to rent was first bought in during February 2016, although it was amended in December 2016, and applies to any residential tenancies apart from a few exceptions, including some social housing and halls of residence. This means that it affects almost any private landlord with ASTs or assured shorthold tenancies, holiday lets, lodger agreements and other written or verbal letting agreements.

The legislation also includes unconventional properties such as mobile homes and houseboats, along with premium tenancies and properties provided by employers. It also affects students who have been placed by education institutions, lettings where the property is not the main home of the tenant and long tenancies over seven years when there is not a landlord’s break clause in place.

This means that landlords (or the agents such as Keywest working on their behalf) must know who they can rent property to and ensure that essential checks are carried out. People who have the right to rent in the UK include British citizens and members of the European Economic Area, in the current political climate, as well as Swiss nationals. There are also other groups of people who have the right to rent in Leicester and the rest of the UK, including people who have what is known as a ‘right of abode’, people who have an indefinite leave to remain and those who have not got a time limit on the period they can stay in the UK.

Are you a landlord in Leicester and needing support? Call us today at our office at Hinckley Road 01162 544 555, our expert team will be delighted to help.