400 Right to Rent fines issued since the scheme started in 2016

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Right to Rent:

The Right to Rent Scheme was introduced in England in February 2016 after a short pilot scheme was run in the west midlands. Since then the Home Office has issued around 400 fines to landlords and agents.

The Right to Rent scheme puts the onus of checking prospective tenants for their immigration status – their right to reside in England – and to make and keep copies of ID documentation, on to landlords.

Failure to follow the regulatory guidelines opens up landlords, and those agents who have been delegated the responsivity for this, to fines of up to £3,000 per tenant. But, according to the Home Office statistics, the average fine levied, across the board, is averaging just below £654.

The Press Association’s analysis of the Home Office figues reveals that the peak period for fines issued for Right to Rent defaults was April to June 2017 (76), followed by July to September 2017 (75), since when the level of fines has declined, Jan-March 2018 to (39).

Commenting on the fines Chris Norris, the National Landlord Association’s director of policy and practice, told the Press Association, the figures show that landlords are increasingly aware of their responsibilities, but that the scheme has placed an additional cost on an already pressurised sector:

“It is important to remember that landlords are neither immigration experts nor border agents,”

“The Right to Rent scheme has placed an additional cost on an already pressurised sector, while the excessive checks and lack of monitoring may have had harmful consequences for would-be and vulnerable tenants.�

A Home Office spokeswoman has said:

“It’s right that we have a compliant environment to deter illegal immigration and protect public services and it is a policy that has been operated under successive governments.

“The Right to Rent checks were developed with the input of the Landlords Consultative Panel and there is online guidance as well as a helpline to ensure the scheme is fully understood.�

Check your tenant’s right to rent

Landlords: immigration right to rent checks

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MIR and stamp duty e-petition: Government responds

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The Government has responded to an e-petition calling for the re-introduction of full mortgage interest relief and the abolition the 3% stamp duty surcharge. Currently the e-petition: Reintroduce full mortgage interest relief and drop the 3% stamp duty surcharge has attracted 14,034 signatures. The RLA is supporting the petition – which runs until November this […]

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Sky dish without permission – Can I remove it?

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My tenant has put up a sky dish which is not permitted by the management company. We have a letting agent (who deals with the tenant on our behalf) and they have asked him to remove it numerous times over the past 6 months and he has not taken it down.

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MPs approve Tenant Fees Bill on second reading

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Tenant Fees Ban:

Last week MPs approved the Tenant Fees Bill on its second reading, indicating there is cross party support for the Bill as it stands.

New Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire MP, opening the debate, said that the Bill brings in “essential measures to promote fairness in the private lettings market. It is a Bill that we should all welcome�.

“The Bill will make the market more transparent, yes, but it also has the potential to save tenants—especially young people and families—hundreds of pounds,� Mr Brokenshaw said.

The Bill proposes a cap on damage deposits of six week’s rent, despite some of the homelessness charities vociferously arguing for 4 weeks, but Mr Brokenshaw said this was an “upper limit and not a recommendation.� He thought landlords should reach an appropriate level of deposit depending on the situation at the time, taking into account all the relevant circumstances of the letting.

Mr Brokenshaw pointed out that landlords sometimes needed the financial security of a higher deposit to encourage investment in the sector and the taking on of higher risk tenants.

“The Bill is not an attack on good agents and landlords. We value the important services that they provide, but it will ensure a fair playing field for reputable agents by making it harder for rogues to operate. Letting agents and landlords who represent good value for money will continue to thrive, while those who rely on charging unfair and unjustifiable fees will have to reconsider their business models,� said the Secretary of State.

The Bill also proposes capping holding deposits at one week’s rent.

Whilst there have been objections from the homelessness charities on the issue of so called “default fees�, that is fees that landlords are allowed to charge in the even the tenant defaults on his or her contractual obligations in the tenancy, it was said that they are to be “to be capped at the level of the landlord’s loss.�

The Shadow Minister for the Private Rented Sector (PRS), Melanie Onn MP said:

“A landlord should not be required to pay for a banking or other fine due to a tenant making a payment late or the replacement of a lost key or entry fob.�

Acknowledging that the fee ban could result in higher rents that tenants would have to pay, Chair of the HCLG Select Committee, Clive Betts MP, said that this would be legitimate if “done properly from the beginning, but again there was evidence that if tenants were asked to pay a bit more each month, rather than a lump sum fee, that would help them in most cases. Organisations representing tenants generally accepted that point,� Mr Betts said.

Others expressed the view that double charging, where an agent working for the landlord and the tenant charged them both a fee, was not right.

“The principle has to be that the letting agent acts on behalf of the landlord and that the landlord therefore pays the costs of the agent. Tenants should not be charged for the purposes of identifying a tenancy,� argued Bob Blackman MP, Conservative, Harrow East and a member of the HCLG Committee.

The Bill will now progress to the Committee stage where opportunities for amendments will be given.

Tenant Fees Bill 2017-19

More documents related to the Tenant Fees Bill

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What costs for damage and repairs can I claim?

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Another usual deposit nightmare story we all hear far too frequently. My tenant moves out early on a 12 month contract, leaving various items removed from the house, some damage and repairs are required. Also she failed to return the rooms she had re decorated back to the original state as per clause in our Tenancy Agreement.

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The Management Company Director who wields absolute power!

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How do you tackle a Management Company Director who wields absolute power?

About 2 years ago my husband and I bought a BTL flat in a development of 30. Each flat owner has a share in the management company that is the Freeholder.

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Property insurance – Change of tenant circumstance?

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I am just in the process of renewing my property insurance. I have three cottages in a terrace, all identical and the renewal cost is £110.00 each.

However in my discussion with the broker he asked me if all the tenants were still working.

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RLA responds to North Kesteven enforcement policy consultation

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The RLA has called for guaranteed long-term funding of housing enforcement in its response to a consultation to a draft PRS enforcement policy in North Kesteven  The response explains that councils will be able to plan, and take effective action against those who exploit tenants through dangerous properties, if guaranteed long term funding of housing enforcement […]

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GDPR sees record number of calls to advice team

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With new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force today, phone calls about the new regulations are continuing to flood in to the RLA’s Landlord Advice Team, with landlords making sure that they are doing what they can in order to be compliant. What are people calling about? Rupinder Aujla, Landlord Advice Team Manager said: “It’s […]

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Rents stable in England and Wales according to latest rental index

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Rental Yields April:

According to the Your Move rental tracker, average rents in the private rented sector (PRS) across England and Wales remained steady in April, that’s compared with the previous month. They were 4.4% higher than a year ago at £861 per month.

Only the North East and Wales saw rents decline, but with rent increases in the 12 months to April in the South West 3% and the East Midlands 2.9%. The North East and Wales declined by 1.6% and 0.5% respectively, with average rents of £526 and £590. The North East is the least expensive place to rent in the country.

London is the most expensive for rents at £1,275 but the rate of previous increases has slowed considerably, rising by just 0.1% in the 12 months to April 2018.

Yields in the East Midlands increased by an average of 4.3%, while remaining steady across most regions of England and Wales in March and April 2018. There was a slight drop in the North West from 4.9% to 4.8% and in the East of England from 3.8% to 3.7%.

4.4% was the average yield across England and Wales, which has remained unchanged. The North East showed the highest yield at 5%, whilst 4.8% was the average yield in the North West, and 4.7% in Wales. The lowest yield overall is 3.2% in London where prices remain high, which also applies in the South East and South West at 3.3%.

Martyn Alderton, National Lettings Director at Your Move, comments:

“The market in London has stopped its recent slowdown, but still lags behind the strong growth seen in the East Midlands. The South West also grew at a strong pace while the North East delivered the strongest yields to landlords. This shows that there’s something for every investor and landlord, whether yield driven or seeing capital appreciation, in today’s rental market.�

According to Martyn Alderton, average yields are still good news landlords who have experienced falling returns in recent months. An extra administrative burden due to increased regulation of the sector, slower rental growth and government tax changes have all contributed to a subdued investment market, but rental demand is strong.

Martyn Alderton says that “even areas which have seen yield levels fall or remain flat, property continues to deliver competitive returns compared to other forms of investment.�

Your Move England & Wales Rental Tracker

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