Landlords face jail if they do not evict illegal immigrants

Under government plans, landlords who fail to carry out checks on status before renting out a property could be prosecuted and sent to prison.

The new measures are part of the government’s upcoming immigration bill, which aims to make it more difficult for migrants to live in the UK once their visas have expired or applications for asylum have been rejected.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said the government was determined to “crack down on rogue landlords who make money out of illegal immigration”.

The new measures mean that landlords will be required to carry out “right to rent” checks on tenants’ immigration status before offering a tenancy agreement.

The Home Office will issue a notice confirming tenants no longer have the right to rent property, and this will give landlords the power to end the tenancy without a court order which is required in some circumstances.

There will also be a blacklist of “rogue” landlords and letting agents who have been convicted of housing offences. This will allow councils to prevent repeat offenders from renting out properties.

Cracking down on rogue landlords

A new criminal offence for landlords and letting agents repeatedly failing to conduct checks or remove tenants will be introduced with maximum penalties of five years’ imprisonment or a fine.

Mr Clark said: “In future, landlords will be required to ensure that the people they rent their properties to are legally entitled to be in the country.

“We will also require them to meet their basic responsibilities as landlords, cracking down on those who rent out dangerous, dirty and overcrowded properties.”

A pilot scheme was launched in the West Midlands in September last year. However, it is thought the Home Office has not complied figures on how many immigrants have been successfully deported.

Mr Clark said: “It is a pilot, and that has been established to see that the procedures work, the systems work, but it has been a success. It has involved the Home Office enforcement authorities.”

Asked how many people had been deported as a result he said: “I don’t have those figures.”

‘Desperate situation’

The National Landlords Association (NLA) argues that people could be at risk by attempting to evict immigrants who may not accept the end of their tenancy.

NLA Chief Executive Officer Richard Lambert told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “As we know, tenants don’t always comply with a court order or any order to leave a property when the tenancy is ended.

“Normally under a court process you would be bringing in a bailiff. I do worry that, in the case of an illegal immigrant, you possibly have a despairing person in a desperate situation and that often leads to people doing very desperate things.”

He said that the possible five-year prison penalty was “quite surprising” and had come “almost out of the blue” suggesting that it “relates to the government wanting to be seen to be tough on migration given what’s going on in Calais”.

The latest proposals come as British and French governments struggle to contain the migrant crisis in Calais, where huge number of people are attempting to cross the Channel to reach the UK.

The immigration bill will stop migrants abusing public services to which they are not entitled. Mark Harper, immigration minister

Immigration Minister Mark Harper said when the bill was first introduced: “The public expects and deserves an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate immigrants and tough on those who abuse the system and flout the law.

“The immigration bill will stop migrants abusing public services to which they are not entitled, reduce the pull factors which draw illegal immigrants to the UK and make it easier to remove people who should not be here.”