New Renting and Landlord Property Rules to be Implemented in April

Over the previous year, the property industry has seen great change with many estate agents, property buyers, sellers and landlords having to alter their processes in line with what is now considered the norm.

The government has announced that they will be implementing a new set of regulations in April that will change the way that identity checks for tenants will be carried out, while this is unlikely to completely rock the world of renting, landlords and people looking to rent should keep it in mind to avoid any unnecessary complications when the time does come.

The Process

The specific area that will see these changes is that of identity checks for renting, a process through which potential tenants provide identification to landlords to ensure that they are eligible to rent and are truly who they say they are. At this current point in time, tenants are required to send a scanned copy of their documents to landlords through email before showing the original identification during a video call.

Apart from social housing, hospital, care home, student accommodation, mobile home, or hostel residents, all tenants have to partake in identification checks before they can officially rent a property.

Please note that it is against the law to only check the identification of people whom you do not believe to be British citizens as this is considered discriminatory of where they are from. To ensure fairness, you may wish to check everyone’s identification.

The Changes

The changes that are being implemented in April aren’t massive but they may cause extra complications at some point down the line when not met.

The new changes mean that the identity verification process can now be carried out online only with some identification documents no longer being accepted. All biometric residence cards and permit holders will now have to verify their identity using the Home Office online service.

Other tenants will have to register with a certified identity service provider (IDSP) who will then go on to verify the documentation through an identity document validation technology service which will then be provided to an estate agent and landlord.

There are bound to be multiple providers of this service and it is yet unclear whether any one of these will be applicable to all, or whether each landlord will request the use of a specific service with which a tenant would then have to sign up for.

We do not yet know how effective this change might be in providing additional safety to landlords and properties, this is certainly a space on which to keep an eye if you are affected by it in any way.

Contact Hadleigh Estate Agents for Properties to Buy & Rent

If you’re looking for a property to buy or rent in Birmingham, please get in touch with our property experts at Hadleigh Estate Agents. We are market leaders in the Harborne and Edgbaston areas.

Our friendly, experienced, and qualified team of estate and letting agents like to take the time to understand your needs to find out exactly what you’re looking for in a purchase or rent property.

Get in touch with us on 0121 427 1213 or you can send us an email here.