Government issues post-Brexit right to rent guidance

The government has finally issued guidance for landlords on right to rent checks for EU citizens in post-Brexit Britain. Under right to rent landlords are responsible for checking the immigration status of their tenants with the prospect of prosecution if they know or have “reasonable cause to believe” that the property they are letting is occupied by someone who does not have the right to rent in the UK. Landlords and letting agents have been told they should continue to conduct right to rent checks on EU, EEA and Swiss citizens in the same way as now, usually by checking and making a copy of an EEA national’s passport or identity card, until 1 January 2021. If the prospective tenant does not have a passport or identity card there is a list of approved documents which are also valid. This can be found here. The arrangement remains the same if the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal, with the government also confirming landlords will notneed to check if new EEA and Swiss tenants arrived before or after the UK left the EU, or if they have status under the EU Settlement Scheme or European temporary leave to remain.