A trade body warns landlords that they could end up breaking the law if they follow the government’s new guidance.

Landlords are told that they only need to see an airline ticket and passport for
Nationals from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United States who are planning to stay on the UK for up to six months.

According to the new guide landlords no longer need to see their visa, if they wish to rent out a property.

The new guide does not hold any real legal significance however landlords need to be careful as Parliament’s Code of Practice specifies that for this group of nationals they must see a Home Office document stating that the bearer has permission to stay in the UK for more than six months.

A spokesperson for the trade body, said: “This represents a new low in the sorry saga of the Right to Rent.

“Having already been ruled to be discriminatory by the High Court, the government is now putting out guidance which could leave landlords open to prosecution.

“It reinforces once again that the Right to Rent policy needs to go and go now.”

Unless the Code of Practice by Parliament is changed accordingly, landlords will be left without any legal cover if tenants decide to stay longer than six months.

Many BTL associations have written to the previous Home Secretary Sajid Javid urging him to abolish the scheme.

Under the Right to Rent scheme/policy BTL landlords could receive up to a five year prison sentence if they are aware of or have “reasonable cause to believe” that their tenant does not have the right to rent in the UK.

Theresa May, in her far from successful role as Home Secretary, is the culprit responsible for introducing the onerous Right to Rent scheme.

Blog Post from PIMS

See details of our Guaranteed Rent Scheme here