Help for letting agents to stay on top of immigration checks

Letting industry suppliers are already adjusting to the national rollout of immigration checks, announced in last week’s Queen’s Speech, to ensure that letting agents comply fully with the new measures. Let Alliance, a specialist tenancy reference and rent guarantee provider to the UK letting agency sector, has announced that it will be extending its Ultimate Global tenancy referencing service nationwide, following the Government’s decision to press ahead with a national rollout of immigration checks. The Ultimate Global tenancy reference takes full account of the Immigration Act, and includes Right to Rent certification; ID validation; follow-up checks for time-limited certification; Home Office checks; and residency confirmation – all done on a documented audit trail. The service was successfully trialled in the West Midlands, which is where the pilot scheme of immigration checks by landlords and agents was introducedlast December, but will soon be accessible by agents across the UK. Importantly, Let Alliance will “take full accountability” for the full referencing process, protecting all their customers against any penalty that may be applied by the Home Office if the tenant has completed the ‘Ultimate Global’ referencing process and met their criteria, according to Andy Halstead (left), CEO of Let Alliance. He said,…