Will changes to the immigration bill protect landlords?

Landlords will no longer be immediately criminalised for failing to pick up illegal tenants, according to the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

The landlord body has been campaigning for changes to the government's Right To Rent legislation and says the government has now agreed to changes to the immigration bill  which will provide protection for landlords who take reasonable steps in an appropriate time frame to terminate tenancies of tenants in the country illegally. 
 
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 in the UK.
 
The Government has also agreed to look at changes to regulations to enable landlords to provide information such as tenancy deposit schemes to tenants via email instead of in paper form as currently is required.

Speaking for landlords, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has campaigned for both changes and very much welcomes the Government’s proposals.
 
RLA chairman Alan Ward 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 also welcome that the Government is willing to look at how electronic information can be better used to provide tenants with the legal information they require. In the 21st Century it is ridiculous that landlords are expected to print so much paper when it can be provided at the simple click of the button.”

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