Temporary Adjustments for Right to Rent Checks remain in place until 30 September 2022
COMPLIANCE UPDATE
The Home Office has announced that the changes made to Right to Rent checks as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020 have been extended to the 30 September 2022. This allows letting agents and landlords time to adjust their processes in preparation for the introduction of Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT).
Deferring the end date of the adjusted checks to 30 September 2022 ensures landlords have sufficient time to develop commercial relationships with identity service providers, make the necessary changes to their pre-tenancy checking processes and carry out responsible on-boarding of their chosen provider.
The decision also provides opportunity for landlords to put measures in place to enable face to face document checks if they do not wish to adopt digital checks for British and Irish citizens with a valid passport (or Irish passport card).
Key Notices revert back to Pre-Pandemic Rules
A fifth change to key notices is introduced today.Both the Form 6a (Section 21) and the Form 3 (Section 8)0(0%) are prescribed forms therefore landlords must ensure they use the correct version before service. Remember to ensure that all the relevant documents which relate to the Deregulation Act 2019 and Tenancy Deposit Protection are in place to ensure that the Section 21 (Form 6A) when served, is valid, and that there are no breaches of the Tenant Fees Act 2019. With regards to the Section 8 (Form 3), the “Breathing Space” moratorium still applies. Any tenant who has been granted breathing space will have the relevant documents in place
Big Changes for Landlords and Tenants from 1 June
The Parliamentary CLG Select Committee recently asked that the MHCLG set out its plans for unwinding the various measures put in place to protect tenants during the pandemic. Yesterday they did just that.
The stay on bailiff and HCEO evictions ends completely on 1 June and so landlords will now be able to enforce the various court orders they have obtained. Landlords could in principle apply for warrants now for action after 1 June but I am not sure that the Bailiff’s offices will allow this. There are suggestions of a massive burst of evictions as a result of this but I doubt that will occur. The reality is that the county court bailiffs simply do not have the capacity to do much more than they were doing pre-Covid and so I do not expect them to be doing that many more evictions than they were before the pandemic. The MHLCG press release suggests that there will be priority given to ASB and fraud cases but doubtless there will also be an element of first come, first served. The removal of the stay will also mean that all protections given to tenancies that fall outside one of the statutory regimes (non-Housing Act tenancies) and residential licences will lose all their protection from 1 June.
Also from 1 June there will be the start of a taper in relation to section 8 and 21 notice periods, which have been extended for the pandemic and the regulations to do this have already been laid. The first stage of the taper will last until the end of September.
Retrospective Right to Rent Checks no Longer Required
The Home Office has announced that landlords & letting agents are no longer required to carry out retrospective Right to Rent checks on tenants who were right to rent checked by digital methods between 30 March 2020 and 16 May 2021.
As a result of the first and subsequent lockdowns, letting agents and landlords have been permitted to carry out Right to Rent checks through over digital platforms such as Skype, Zoom or FaceTime. However, Home Office guidance stated that lettings agents and landlords would need to go back and carry out retrospective checks within eight weeks of the Home Office announcing that restrictions were lifted. Clearly, the restrictions have been semi-lifted and then reinstated, creating a back log in retrospective face-to-face checks that would have to take place.
Letting agents are relieved that the temporary adjustments to right to rent checks due to COVID-19 are ending.
From 17 May 2021 landlords and letting agents must either:
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check the applicant’s right to rent online, if the applicant has provided their share code and date of birth