National estate agent chain Carter Jonas says a recent landmark ruling won by budget airline Ryanair has a direct bearing on the recently-introduced Right to Rent scheme.

Earlier this year Ryanair won a case against the government when the airline was fined £4,000 after it flew two Albanians into Edinburgh from Spain who were subsequently found by UK Border Agency staff to have false passports.

Ryanair argued successfully that it’s not fair to fine airlines when illegal immigrants arrive at UK airports because most airline staff are not experienced enough to spot fake passports.

During the appeal hearing the court heard that Ryanair has been paying out more than £400,000 a year in fines for flying illegal immigrants into UK airports.

Lisa Simon, Head of Residential Lettings at Carter Jonas (pictured), says there are “clear parallels” for landlords and agents under the Right to Rent scheme, which requires those renting out property to check a potential tenant’s documentation to prove they have the right rent in the UK.

Where the regulations are vague, Lisa says, is when they set out the ‘reasonable steps’ that agents should take when checking a document’s validity.

“The difficulty comes in knowing what a good forgery is,” says Lisa. “But the Ryanair case seems to give at least a clue as to a definition.”

The appeal court judge found in Ryanair’s favour even though statements by officials to the court said airline staff should have spotted missing security elements within the Albanians’ passports.

Judge Damien Lochrane ruled that even trained professional UK Border staff find it hard to spot such discrepancies and that busy airline staff should not be expected to notice them, even though they go on annual refresher courses.

The inference for agents is that should an agent be fined for not spotting a tenant’s fake documentation, the same argument used in the Ryanair case could be applied.

“Carter Jonas agents are in effect immigration officers now even though we’ve had no training on how to spot fake documentation and the Home Office is expecting us to spot forgeries,” she says. “It’s proving to be really, really onerous for us, particularly in central London where many of our letting clients are from overseas.”

Lisa says it’s particularly tricky for her staff when someone flies in to view properties prior to starting a new job in London but doesn’t bring their partner or children with them, for example, and is then told they can’t have the keys until all the people who will live in the property over 18 years old have had their documentation checked in person.

“It’s really, really irritating for both the agent and renter,” adds Lisa.