The Immigration (Residential Accommodation) (Prescribed Requirements and Codes of Practice) Order 2014

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Immigration (Residential Accommodation) (Prescribed Requirements and Codes of Practice) Order 2014 and comes into force on 1st December 2014.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“the Act” means the Immigration Act 2014;

“asylum-seeker” has the meaning given in section 94(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(1);

“biometric immigration document” has the meaning given in section 5 of the UK Borders Act 2007(2);

“claim for asylum” has the meaning given in section 94(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;

“derivative residence card” means a card issued in accordance with regulation 18A of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006(3) to a person who is not an EEA or Swiss national;

“document” means an original document;

“Landlord Checking Service” means the enquiry and advice service for landlords and agents operated by the Home Office;

“occupier” means any adult who is authorised to occupy premises under a residential tenancy agreement;

“Positive Right to Rent Notice” means a document issued by the Landlord Checking Service which indicates that the person named in it is not disqualified from occupying premises under a residential tenancy agreement;

“prospective occupier” means an adult who, under a residential tenancy agreement, will be authorised to occupy premises;

“residence card” means—

(a)

a residence card issued in accordance with regulation 17 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 or

(b)

a document certifying permanent residence or a permanent residence card issued in accordance with regulation 18 of those Regulations,

and includes an “accession residence card” issued to a person who is not an EEA or Swiss national within the meaning of the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013(4).

The prescribed requirements

3.  For the purposes of sections 24(2) and (7)(a) and 26(2) and (7)(a) of the Act, a landlord or agent complies with the prescribed requirements if the landlord or agent—

(a) obtains documents prescribed in article 4 from an occupier or prospective occupier; and

(b) in accordance with article 5, take steps to verify, retain, copy or record the contents of a document obtained under article 4.

4.  The landlord or agent must—

(a) obtain from the occupier or prospective occupier—

(i) one document listed in List A in the Schedule to this Order; or

(ii) two documents listed in List B in the Schedule to this Order; or

(b) subject to article 6, obtain a Positive Right to Rent Notice in respect of the occupier or prospective occupier from the Landlord Checking Service where—

(i) the occupier or prospective occupier informs the landlord or agent that—

(aa) they have an outstanding application to vary their leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or have an administrative review or appeal pending against a decision on that application, or

(bb) they are an asylum seeker or have an appeal pending against a determination made by the Secretary of State in respect of their claim for asylum, or

(cc) they have made an application for a residence card or derivative residence card within the last 6 months, or

(dd) they are a person to whom the Secretary of State has granted permission to occupy premises under section 21(3) of the Act, and

(ii) the occupier or prospective occupier provides the landlord or agent with their Home Office issued reference number in relation to that application, claim, administrative review, appeal or permission to occupy premises.

5.  Where the landlord or agent obtains any document from an occupier or prospective occupier or the Landlord Checking Service pursuant to article 4, the landlord or agent must—

(a) take all reasonable steps to check the validity of the document;

(b) if a document contains a photograph, satisfy themselves that the photograph is of the occupier or prospective occupier;

(c) if a document contains a date of birth, satisfy himself that the date of birth is consistent with the appearance of the occupier or prospective occupier;

(d) take all other reasonable steps to check that the occupier or prospective occupier is the rightful owner of the document;

(e) if the document is not a passport or other travel document, retain a clear and legible copy of the whole of the document in a format which cannot be subsequently altered;

(f) if the document is a passport or other travel document (which is not in the form of a card), retain a clear and legible copy of the following pages of that document in a format which cannot be subsequently altered—

(i) any page containing the holder’s personal details including nationality;

(ii) any page containing the holder’s photograph;

(iii) any page containing the holder’s signature;

(iv) any page containing the date of expiry; and

(v) any page containing information indicating the holder has an entitlement to enter or remain in the UK;

(g) if the document is a travel document in the form of a card, retain a clear and legible copy of the whole of that document in a format which cannot be subsequently altered;

(h) record the date on which the copies were taken;

(i) retain a clear and legible copy or copies securely for a period of not less than one year after the residential tenancy agreement has come to an end;

(j) take all reasonable steps to identify any additional occupants of the property at the time the occupier or prospective occupier enters into the residential tenancy agreement.

6.  If the Landlord Checking Service fails to respond to a request made by a landlord or agent under article 4(b) for confirmation of an occupier or prospective occupier’s eligibility to occupy private residential accommodation within a period of 48 hours, not including Saturdays or Sundays, Christmas Day or Good Friday, or any day which is a bank holiday in England and Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(5), then the landlord or agent may proceed as though the Landlord Checking Service had issued a Positive Right to Rent Notice.

7.  Nothing in this Order permits landlords or agents to retain documents produced by an occupier or prospective occupier for the purpose of article 4 for any period longer than is necessary for the purposes of ensuring compliance with article 5.

Time for compliance with the prescribed requirements

8.  The prescribed period within which the prescribed requirements must be complied with for the purposes of sections 24(4) and 26(4) of the Act is 28 days ending on the day before the day on which the residential tenancy agreement which authorises occupation is entered into.

Notification of contraventions to the Secretary of State

9.  The prescribed form and manner of notification for the purposes of sections 24(8) and 26(8) of the Act is that it must be in writing and must—

(a) contain—

(i) the full name of the occupier who is believed to be a disqualified adult;

(ii) the address of the premises in which the occupier has been granted a right of occupation;

(iii) the name and contact address of the landlord;

(iv) the name and contact address of any agent;

(v) the date on which the occupier first became entitled to take up occupation; and

(b) be accompanied by a copy of any documents relating to the occupier retained by the landlord or agent in accordance with article 5.

Objection

10.  A notice of objection must contain—

(a) the reference number of the notice given under section 23(1) or section 25(3) of the Act;

(b) the name and contact address of the landlord;

(c) the name and contact address of any agent;

(d) the name and address of the occupier in respect of whom the penalty was issued;

(e) the full grounds of objection; and

(f) any documents to be relied upon in support of the objection.

11.  The prescribed period within which a notice of objection must be given for the purposes of section 29(3)(d) of the Act is 28 days, beginning with the date specified in the penalty notice as the date upon which it is given.

12.  The prescribed period for the purposes of section 29(6) of the Act within which the Secretary of State must inform the objector of the Secretary of State’s decision is 28 days, beginning with the date on which the notice of objection was given to the Secretary of State.

Codes of Practice

13.  The code of practice entitled “Code of practice on illegal immigrants and private rented accommodation: Civil penalty scheme for landlords and their agents”, issued by the Secretary of State under section 32(1) of the Act comes into force on 1st December 2014.

14.  The code of practice entitled “Code of practice for landlords: Avoiding unlawful discrimination when conducting ‘right to rent’ checks in the private rented residential sector”, issued by the Secretary of State under section 33(1) of the Act comes into force on 1st December 2014.

James Brokenshire

Minister of State

Home Office

28th October 2014