As a landlord, you are legally obligated to ensure that your tenants have the right to rent in the UK. If your tenant fails a follow-up check and you don't report it to the Home Office, you could face hefty fines or even a prison sentence of up to five years. The proper way to get a landlord to rectify a dangerous condition is to file a rental security deposit complaint. The tenant will pay the rent into an “escrow account” created by the court until the landlord fixes the hazardous condition.
You don't need to do a follow-up check if your tenant's permission to stay in the UK has no time limit. The right of a potential tenant to rent can be verified in one of two ways, either through manual checks or through the online billing service of the Ministry of the Interior. If a tenant subleases a property in exchange for rent, he becomes an owner in his own right and is responsible for verifying the right to rent of anyone he subleases to. There is no need for landlords to check their children's right to rent as long as they are sure that the children are under 18 when the lease begins. The participation code, when included along with the potential tenant's date of birth, can give landlords access to information about their right to rent. When renting property in England, landlords now have a legal responsibility to check their applicant's immigration status and at the same time make sure they don't engage in illegal discrimination against potential tenants.
However, landlords who don't comply with these rules may regret it; failing to do so can result in fines of up to £3,000 per tenant or even prison sentences. In cases of “extreme weather”, an administrative judge from the local District Court may choose to postpone an expected eviction due to non-payment of rent from one day to another. The aim of this plan is to add an extra deterrent for people residing illegally in the UK, without harming those who have a legitimate right to rent. If the landlord discovers that his tenants are not legally allowed to rent, the Ministry of the Interior will send him a notice of disqualification and he must take steps to end the lease. The landlord is also obligated to repair and eliminate any conditions that pose a serious threat to the life, health, or safety of the occupants (for more information on specific items, see Rent Escrow). If a hazardous condition exists, the tenant must not withhold rent from the landlord.
The landlord can take legal action for non-payment of rent.
