Lisa Simon, head of 29 lettings offices at high-end agent Carter Jonas, has added her voice to concern over the potential confusion to agents and landlords of Home Office guidance on immigration checks.
The guidance has recently been issued, withdrawn, and re-issued without change in the space of 24 hours.
Not for the first time, landlords and agents have been left confused by plans for them to become partly responsible for policing immigration, says Simon.
The guidance was issued first on August 7, withdrawn in the early hours of the next day, and then reissued a short time later. It is vague on its requirements, calling only for the introduction in late Autumn 2014' of the checks in an unspecified trial area. Then, in theory, the scheme may be rolled out more widely next year.
The whole industry must remain on standby. No landlord or letting agent can be sure they are off the hook temporarily because they are not in the launch area or permanently because the latest guidance also infers that rolling out the checks more widely may not happen she says.
The Home Office is setting up a phone-line for checking difficult cases that promises a response within 48 hours - if this is not achieved then the lettings agent or landlord will escape a penalty.
But how realistic is it to promise a 48 hour turnaround for an untried system in an era of civil service cutbacks asks Simon.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the guidance from the Home Office is the note at the end: August 2014 - All information in this factsheet was correct at the time of publishing but is subject to change.' So even though the lettings industry has guidance, we have no confirmation of what is to come she warns.
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