Right To Rent Law - Britons?

moneyistooshorttomention

Arleen wrote: »

If they turn out to not be legally here, it's your fine to pay. But then if your gut is solid on that not being the case, you have nothing to worry.

Well...yep....that counts as "if people started screaming" category.

....and I know I got conned by one (or maybe two) of my previous lodgers - both obviously Middle Eastern.....(so I would have definitely checked on them in the event).

MONEYTREE_2

Due to the ambiguity of the replies (for which many thanks, regardless) I phoned the government helpline. This is what they said:

If the person says they were born here, sounds looks and acts British, and I judge that they were born here, then it's fine to take a chance because the likelihood that such a person has no right of residency is almost nil and the fine is only £80.

You only get fined if they turn out to be an illegal, NOT for failing to check a British.

If I still want to go through the hoops and make the check, I need either

their passport

or

their birth certificate AND their NI number from their payslip.

Take a photo of these and keep them on the PC.

Why don't they just say that on the blooming site?

So, turns out Moneyistoo... and Arleen are right. It's OK to "wave them through".

davidmcn

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Straight through to no. 1 on the link to Government website and it says "You MUST check". Sounds pretty firm to me.

It does, but it's just advice about best practice. The legislation only applies penalties if the tenant doesn't have the right to rent and the landlord can't demonstrate that they carried out due diligence.

This is different from, say, anti-money-laundering regulations, where you can get a hefty fine merely for failing to check, even if there is no evidence of actual money-laundering going on.

The added complication is that landlords are walking into unlawful discrimination claims if they only start asking foreign-looking types for their papers.

PasturesNew

I guess the next question might be: How on earth could you tell if a passport in your hand is legal and not a fake anyway?

For the unskilled/untrained .... if it says passport on it, then it's a passport.

I'd not know a fake!

Arleen

PasturesNew wrote: »

I guess the next question might be: How on earth could you tell if a passport in your hand is legal and not a fake anyway?

For the unskilled/untrained .... if it says passport on it, then it's a passport.

I'd not know a fake!

You can't, but that is not the point of this law. It's not to catch the clever conmen, it's there to stop the majority who will not go to that length of getting a fake passport.

Miss_Samantha

MONEYTREE wrote: »

You only get fined if they turn out to be an illegal, NOT for failing to check a British.

As written in post #5.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Straight through to no. 1 on the link to Government website and it says "You MUST check". Sounds pretty firm to me.

Yes, but that's not what the law actually says.

The only obligation is not to let to someone who hasn't a right to rent. You do not breach any law by not carrying checks.

Of course, in general a landlord does not know the prospective tenant so should check that she has a right to rent.

A passport isn't required either for these checks. A birth certificate combined with a photo ID will do.

As for a fake: If it is obvious then you'll probably be in it for it, otherwise not.