Right To Rent – Criminal Offences

From 1st February 2016 all landlords have had to complete ‘Right to Rent’ checks on their tenants.

Further provisions are being introduced on 1st December 2016 which include criminal offences for landlords and agents who fail to carry out right to rent checks or fail to take steps to remove illegal immigrant tenants from their rented residential property in England. There are also new provisions which make it easier for landlords to evict illegal immigrant tenants from properties in England, and in some circumstances landlords are able to evict without a court order.

We have detailed the new possession provisions in a separate blog here.

This blog will focus on the potential criminal offences.

Landlord offence: failure to take steps to remove illegal immigrant tenants

A landlord will commit an offence if both of the following conditions are met:-

1. a) The property is occupied by an adult who is not permitted to occupy the property as a result of their immigration status; and
2. b) The landlord knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the property is occupied by an adult who is not permitted to occupy the property as a result of their immigration status.

A landlord will not have committed the offence if both the following conditions are met:-

1. i) The adult in question has a time-limited right to rent; and
2. ii) The time-limited right to rent in relation to the adult has not expired.

However, if the Secretary of State has given notice in writing to the landlord confirming that the adult in question is not permitted to occupy the property, the landlord will be liable even if the time-limited right to rent has not expired.

This offence applies to all residential tenancy agreements, whether entered into before or after 1st December 2016.

Defence – where reasonable steps are taken to end tenancy agreement in reasonable time

If the landlord has taken reasonable steps to terminate the tenancy agreement and those steps are taken within a reasonable time, the landlord will have a defence to the criminal offence. The court will take all of the circumstances of the case into account when deciding whether the landlord has a defence.

Agents: offences

A landlord’s agent is liable to a criminal offence where they are responsible for either:-

1. Allowing an adult to occupy a property under a residential tenancy agreement who is disqualified from doing so as a result of their immigration status; or
2. Allowing an adult to occupy a property after their time-limited right to rent expires and the occupier is disqualified as a result of their immigration status.

These provisions only apply to offences by an agent which occur on or after 1st December 2016.

Penalties

A landlord or agent who is guilty of either of the offences is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, a fine, or both imprisonment and a fine.

On 28 October 2025 the long awaited Renters Rights Act 2025 (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent meaning it is now law. This includes very significant changes for landlords and tenants including changes to tenancy agreements, tenant rights, deposits, notices and eviction processes amongst others. For the current position on this see our blog here. This legislation includes numerous changes designed to alter the relationship between landlords and tenants, aimed at giving tenants greater security of tenure and rights. For now landlords can continue to use the existing processes and should serve notices and issue claims promptly wherever possible to take advantage of the time period before the Act is fully implemented. When the Act is fully implemented it will no longer be possible to pursue possession claims via the accelerated possession route as this will no longer exist. Section 21 notices are being abolished. Existing court forms will be changing. Landlords should ensure you remain up to date on the legislation to avoid later difficulties. Contact our team if you need assistance and we will be happy to help. extra – At present the Act has not yet come into force however this is anticipated fairly soon. Our fees and services will also be adapting to reflect the new reality. We will be continuing to act nationally in these disputes almost exclusively for landlords. When the Act is implemented a period of change, elongated timescales at court, and more complex and expensive court processes, should be anticipated in keeping with the aims of government to give tenants greater rights and security of tenure.