Members of Parliament have approved measures that will give greater protection to landlords wanting to evict illegal immigrants.

Changes to the Immigration Bill proposed by the Government and approved earlier this week will provide protection for landlords who take reasonable steps in an appropriate time frame to terminate tenancies of tenants in the country illegally.

Right to Rent checks became a legal requirement for landlords from February this year. The requirement has been seen by many landlords as an unnecessary burden and led to claims that landlords are being forced to do the job of border control.  

Previously under the Bill, landlords would face immediate criminal sanctions upon discovery that they failed to ensure their tenants had the right to rent property before having the chance to evict them.

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has campaigned hard for this change to the Government’s Right to Rent scheme.

RLA policy director David Smith said: “The RLA warmly welcomes the Government’s pragmatic changes to its Right to Rent scheme that will provide protection for good landlords from the unintended consequences of the policy. It is particularly helpful that the changes were approved by MPs without a vote, a sign of cross party support for the measure.”