Right to Rent and EU Settlement Status Q and A
As the deadline for applying for EU Settlement Status approaches, immigration enforcement officials will begin giving EU citizens who live in the UK a 28-day warning to apply to remain in the UK. However, the Home Office will allow people indefinite time to complete an application for settled status if they have a reasonable excuse for their delay in applying.
The following questions were asked by letting agents attending the Rightmove Webinar presented by Susie and may prove useful.
1. When will the government issue new guidance on EU Settlement?
18th June 2021
2. Is there a time limit for tenants to prove status?
There is a time limit for the tenants to prove their status. Tenants have until the 30th of June 2021 to apply for the EU settlement scheme.
3. What can a letting agent do with the share code?
The tenant will need to provide this share code, along with their date of birth. They can email this information directly to the letting agent directly through the View and Prove service.
The letting agent can then enter the tenant's share code and date of birth at the government's view a tenant's right to rent portal and confirm the tenant has the right to rent.
4. Is there a recommended App applicants can use?
There is a Government app that can be used - ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDSnJ2-iG3
5. How do we ask applicants to prove settled status if the letter isn’t sufficient?
From 1 July 2021, the majority of EEA citizens will prove their right to rent using the Home Office online checking service. Those who have made a successful application to the EU Settlement Scheme will have been provided with digital evidence of their immigration status and can only prove their right to rent using the Home Office online checking service ‘prove your right to rent in England’
6. Are we still supposed to view physical ID docs from the A/B lists if we have used share code to check status?
To prove their right to rent from 1 July 2021, individuals will provide you with a share code and their date of birth which will enable you to check their Home Office immigration status via the online service available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-rent
7. If we can use share code checks in place of A/B List physical doc checks, do we need to certify that the photo resembles the tenant in same way that we certify original docs copies as 'as original'?
The Right to Rent Checks: A user guide for tenants and landlords provides guidance on verifying original documents.
8. If a tenant for an EU Member state has lived in the UK for 5 years, how would they know they have to apply for Settled Status now - who is or should be telling them to apply?
There has been an extensive advertising campaign for the last 18 months and the Government website provides information on how to apply for settled status.
9. If tenants are found not to have applied for settlement or to have been refused, will landlords have to report and, if so, to whom?
There may be circumstances after 30th June 2021 in which it has been identified that a tenant who is an EEA citizen who has not applied to the EUSS by the deadline and does not hold any other form of leave in the UK.
In these circumstances you do not need to end their tenancy agreement, but you must make a report via GOV.UK to the Home Office in order to maintain your statutory excuse: https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/lcs-reporting.ofml
10. Will we need to request residency documents from current EU/EEA countries after 30th June?
No, there is no requirement for landlords to carry out a retrospective check on EEA citizens who entered into a tenancy agreement up to and including 30th June 2021, including where an EEA citizen provided you with their passport or national identity card to prove their right to rent.
11. Why is RTR only England and not Wales or Scotland too seem stupid?
The reason as to why the right to rent act is not applicable in Wales is because it is only in its first phased of implementation; therefore, legislation has not been fully enacted yet thus does not currently apply to Wales. In Scotland they have ruled the right to rent scheme has breached the European convention on human rights. As the right to rent policy allows discrimination to occur against non - UK nationals. Thus, it is illegal for the scheme to be rolled out in Scotland.
12. I thought the Rent-to-Rent check date going back to normal was 17th May 2021, has it now changed to 20th June 2021?
Correct it had, but this has changed again. Until the 31st of August 2021, Right to Rent checks can be carried out using digital methods and a scanned copy of original documents.
13. For how long is a Share Code valid?
When the share code is emailed to an applicant or given to you by the person who you are checking, the share code will expire after 30 days.
14. Will a landlord/ letting agent need to set a reminder to check tenants have applied for settled status if moved in on a pre-settled status?
Yes. To convert pre-Settled Status to Settled Status the tenant will need to re-apply to the EUSS. The application process for Settled Status is very similar to the process they went through to apply for pre-Settled Status.
15. Can tenants move in without applying for EU Settlement status up until 30th June 2021?
Yes
16. Can a Right to rent check for an overseas student can be done digitally?
Yes, until 31st August 2021
17. If we are arranging tenancies now that will start on or after 1st July, can we ask to see their settlement status?
No
18. Is it correct that someone with settled status would have permanent right to rent, and someone with pre-settled status would be time limited?
Yes
19. EU citizens lives in the UK and is married to a British citizen they advise us they do not need to apply for settled status as they are married. If they have not applied does that mean they do not have the right to rent (from 1st July)?
Correct. They need to apply even if the husband, wife or civil partner is a British citizen.
20. If we have a portfolio of 5000+ current tenants, we have to ask all tenants for their eu status?
No, you would only apply these changes to new tenancies from the 1st of July 2021.
21. Are retrospective checks on current tenants required?
The Home Office clarify in the guidance published on 18th June 2021 that retrospective checks regarding EU Settlement status are not required.
22. When you talk about taking scans of passports, are we able to take pictures on our phone of these documents if we don’t have an office to meet tenants at with a scanner?
Yes, but please make sure that you adhere to the policies set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office
23. Can a student apply for EU Settlement Status?
The EU Settlement Scheme allows you to apply for either settled or pre-settled status. Settled status: You will be eligible to apply to stay in the UK indefinitely (known as settled status) if by 31 December 2020, you have been continually living in the UK for 5 years.
24. What happens if the applicant has not applied or is rejected? Do they have to leave the country etc?
You should advise the individual they must make an application to the EUSS within 28 days in order to regularise their immigration status. They can do this free of charge at: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/applying-for-settled-status
25. What are the tenants have an EU resident permit that doesn't expire until 2023?
They would still have to apply.
26. Can someone’s EU Settlement Status be revoked?
Yes, EU Settled Status can be revoked. Once granted, Pre-Settled Status can be lost if the holder leaves the UK for a period of two or more years. Settled Status can be lost if the holder leaves the UK for five or more years, or if the person in question is charged with a serious criminal offence.
27. If someone’s pre-settled or settled status is revoked, how do we know?
You may be notified by the authorities.
28. If someone cannot prove their settled/pre-settled status, can we let to them rent a property?
Pre June 30th, 2021, yes; to prove their right to rent from 1 July 2021, individuals will provide you with a share code and their date of birth which will enable you to check their Home Office immigration status via the online service available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/view-right-to-rent
29. If a tenancy commenced last year with a tenant from the EEA, does a follow up check need to be completed on 1 July 2021 or at the time of tenancy renewal?
No, but a landlord or letting agent may have chosen to carry out a retrospective check or have been made aware that a tenant does not have a lawful status in the UK. They have missed the deadline through no fault of their own. In these circumstances the tenancy agreement does not need to be ended, but you must make a report via GOV.UK to the Home Office in order to maintain your statutory excuse: https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/lcs-reporting.ofml