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

Made: 28th October 2014

Laid before Parliament: 30th October 2014

Coming into force: 1st December 2014

In accordance with section 33(3) of that Act the Secretary of State has consulted the bodies specified in that section about a code of practice specifying what a landlord or agent should or should not do to avoid contravening the Equality Act 2010[^f00003], so far as relating to race, or the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997[^f00004], published a draft code, considered any representations made about the published draft code and laid a draft code before Parliament.

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[^f00005];

• “biometric immigration document” has the meaning given in section 5 of the UK Borders Act 2007[^f00006];

• “charity” means a charity within the meaning of section 1 of the Charities Act 2011, or section 1 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 or a body entered in the Scottish Charity Register;

• “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 20 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 to a person who is not an EEA or Swiss national;

• “document” means an original document;

• “document certifying permanent residence” means a document issued under regulation 19(1) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016;

• “further education institution” means an institution which is within the further education sector;

• “higher education institution” means—an institution that has been granted degree-awarding powers by either a Royal Charter, an Act of Parliament or the Privy Council; oran institution not falling within paragraph (a) but which provides full courses that lead to the award of a degree by an institution falling within that paragraph;

• “Home Office online right to rent checking service” means the electronic system operated by the Home Office allowing landlords or agents to check whether a person has a right to rent in the United Kingdom and, if so, the nature of any restrictions on that person’s right to do so;

• “identity document validation technology” means technology operated by a person for the purpose of verifying the identity of another person (“the subject”), whereby a digital copy of a physical document relating to the subject is produced by or in relation to the subject for verification of—the document’s validity, andwhether the subject is the rightful holder of the document;

• “IDVT identity check” means the response generated by an IDVT identity service provider, using identity document validation technology, when undertaking identity verification with respect to a person;

• “IDVT identity service provider” means a person that provides identity verification services using identity document validation technology;

• “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;

• “online right to rent check” means the response generated by the Home Office online right to rent checking service in relation to a person;

• “permanent residence card” means a permanent residence card issued under regulation 19(2) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, and includes an “accession residence card” within the meaning of the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013 issued to a person who is not an EEA or Swiss national;

• “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;

• “public authority” has the meaning given by section 6(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998;

• “registration certificate” means a certificate issued under regulation 17 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016;

• “relevant IDVT document” means a document falling within the description in paragraph 1 or 1A of List A(1) of the Schedule and which has not expired;

• “residence card” means a residence card issued in accordance with regulation 18 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, and includes an “accession residence card” within the meaning of the Accession of Croatia (Immigration and Worker Authorisation) Regulations 2013 issued to a person who is not an EEA or Swiss national;

• “voluntary organisation” means a body (other than a public authority) whose activities are not carried on for profit.

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—

• (a) the landlord or agent—

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

• (ii) in accordance with article 5, takes steps to verify, retain, copy or record the contents of a document obtained under article 4;

• (aa) article 5ZA applies (IDVT identity check);

• (b) the landlord or agent takes the steps set out in article 5A; or

• (c) the landlord or agent takes the steps set out in article 5B.

4

The landlord or agent must—

• (a) obtain from the occupier or prospective occupier—

• (i) one document listed in List A(1) in the Schedule to this Order;

• (ii) two documents listed in List A(2) in the Schedule to this Order; or

• (iii) one document 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 leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU to the immigration rules on or before 30th June 2021, or

• (cca) they have a Certificate of Application issued by the Home Office, showing that they have made an application for leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU to the immigration rules on or after 1st July 2021, or

• (ccb) they have a document issued by the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, or the Isle of Man, showing that the holder has made an application for leave to enter or remain under Appendix EU(J) to the Jersey Immigration Rules or Appendix EU to the Immigration (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Rules 2008, or Appendix EU to the Isle of Man Immigration Rules (as the case may be), 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) or article 5A(1)(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[^f00009], 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—

• (a) article 4 or 5A for any period longer than is necessary for the purposes of ensuring compliance with article 5 ;

• (b) article 5ZA for any period longer than is necessary for the purposes of ensuring compliance with article 5ZB.

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 made via the GOV.UK website or by telephone and must—

• (a) contain—

• (i) the full name, date of birth and nationality 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) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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 revised code of practice entitled “Code of practice on right to rent: Right to Rent Scheme for landlords and their agents”, issued by the Secretary of State on 23rd January 2024 under section 32(1) and (5) of the Act and laid in draft before Parliament on 15th November 2023, comes into force on 13th February 2024.

14

The revised 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(2) of the Act and laid in draft before Parliament on 2nd March 2022, comes into force on 6th April 2022.

SCHEDULE

LIST A(1)

1

A passport showing that the holder is a British citizen or a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies having the right of abode in the United Kingdom.

2

A passport or national identity card showing that the holder is a national of an EEA state or Switzerland.

3

A passport or travel document which has not expired endorsed to show that the holder is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom for a time limited period.

4

A registration certificate issued by the Home Office to a national of an EEA state or Switzerland under regulation 16 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.

5

A document certifying permanent residence issued by the Home Office to a national of an EEA state or Switzerland under regulation 18 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.

6

A permanent residence card issued by the Home Office to the family member of a national of an EEA state or Switzerland under regulation 18 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.

7

A residence card or derivative residence card which has not expired or been revoked.

8

A biometric immigration document ... issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named in it is allowed to stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom or has no time limit on their stay in the United Kingdom.

9

A biometric immigration document which has not expired issued by the Home Office to the holder which indicates that the person named is permitted to stay in the United Kingdom for a time limited period.

10

A passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the United Kingdom, has the right of abode in the United Kingdom, or has no time limit on their stay in the United Kingdom.

11

An immigration status document ... containing a photograph issued by the Home Office to the holder with an endorsement indicating that the person named in it is allowed to stay in the United Kingdom indefinitely or has no time limit on their stay in the United Kingdom.

12

A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen.

LIST A(2)

1

A full birth certificate issued in the United Kingdom which includes the name of at least one of the holder’s parents.

2

A full adoption certificate issued in the United Kingdom which includes the name of at least one of the holder’s adoptive parents.

3

A birth certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland.

4

An adoption certificate issued in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Ireland.

5

A letter which—

• (a) is issued by a government department or local authority no longer than 3 months before the date on which it is presented;

• (b) is signed by a named official stating their name and professional address;

• (c) confirms the holder’s name;

• (d) confirms that the holder has accessed services from that department or authority or is otherwise known to that department or authority.

6

A letter which—

• (a) is issued no longer than 3 months before the date on which it is presented;

• (b) is signed by a British passport holder who is or has been a professional person or who is otherwise of good standing in their community;

• (c) confirms the holder’s name;

• (d) states how long the signatory has known the holder, such period being of at least 3 months’ duration, and in what capacity;

• (e) states the signatory’s name, address, profession, place of work and passport number.

7

A letter issued by a person who employs the holder issued no longer than 3 months before the date on which it is presented, which indicates the holder’s name and confirming their status as an employee and employee reference number or National Insurance number and states the employer’s name and business address.

8

A letter issued by a police force in the United Kingdom no longer than 3 months before the date on which it is presented, confirming that the holder has been the victim of a crime in which the holder’s passport or biometric immigration document has been stolen, and stating the crime reference number.

9

A document issued by one of Her Majesty’s forces or the Secretary of State confirming that the holder is or has been a serving member of that force.

10

An identity card issued by any of Her Majesty’s forces.

11