Letting agency announces support for new immigration ...

A letting agency has announced its support for new rules which will allow landlords to evict illegal immigrants without a court order as well as stronger punishments for those making money out of illegal immigration.

Martin & Co Derby draws attention to the government's new blacklist of rogue landlords which is being introduced to allow councils to keep track of which landlords have already been convicted of helping illegal tenants to live in the Private Rented Sector.

“It is always good to see tougher crackdowns on rogue landlords being introduced and we completely agree with the stronger punishments,” says David McKnight, the firm's managing director.

“Obviously this problem is currently a hot topic in the news and it is essential that more is done to stop landlords making money from illegal immigrants. Equally, it is important and good news that landlords are being given more eviction powers,” he says.

The proposals, which will be part of the upcoming Immigration Bill, will include a new criminal offence of failing to conduct checks or remove tenants that have no right to reside in the UK and will carry a penalty of up to five years imprisonment.

The Home Office will be able to issue a notice confirming tenants no longer have the right to rent property, which will trigger a power for landlords to end the tenancy, without a court order.

Landlords or letting agents working on their behalf will also have a requirement to carry out "right to rent" checks on tenants' immigration status.

“It is vital to crackdown on rogue landlords who are breaking the law as they are exploiting vulnerable people,” adds McKnight.

"We have recently heard more about 'bed sheds' where rogue landlords are offering back garden spaces to tenants, which is just totally unacceptable. We cannot emphasise enough how important it is for landlords to run thorough checks before renting out their properties to potential tenants.”