1. Evicting Illegal Immigrants
News came last moth that the Government will be relaxing the strict repossession rules that
are currently in place if the tenant is an illegal immigrant.
In a bid to tackle the current immigration problem landlords will now be able to skip the
lengthy possession proceedings process and skip straight to evicting the tenant.
This news whilst seemingly ground breaking stems from legislation over a year old. The
Legislation Act 2014 implemented a requirement that residential landlords check the status
of new tenants to ensure they had the proper immigration status. This was implemented in
the West Midlands on a trial basis but is being rolled out across the country at a date to be
confirmed later this year. According to Home Office data 85% of recent illegal immigrants
use privately rented accommodation, and the Act was an attempt to make it much harder for
illegal immigrants to live in the UK.
These new checks mimic checks employers have to undertake to ensure they are not
employing illegal immigrants. Under the Immigration Act 2014 landlords and managing
agents can be fined up to £3,000 if they still rent to illegal immigrants.
Greg Clark the Communities Secretary announced that following the above trial scheme the
Government now plan, under a new Immigration Bill, to impose criminal sanctions on
landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, with a maximum custodial penalty of 5 years. The
proposed legislation will also create a blacklist at the local council of landlords who have
consistently breached the immigration checks and will mean they will not be able to rent out
their properties again. The proposed legislation will allow landlords to evict after receiving a
notice from the Home Office that the tenant no longer has the right to abide in the UK
meaning a court order will not be required.
However further clarification is required on issues such as where the evicted tenants will go
once evicted, homeless shelters and homeless accommodation are excluded from the scope
of legislation, so the legislation could be essentially shifting the problem and the tenant from
the private sector to the public (and publically funded) sector. However, it could be a useful
tool for landlords who are struggling through the court system to remove illegal immigrant
tenants.
By Ella Carroll