A senior relocation and human resources expert says Right To Rent will not change the behaviour of any letting agent or landlord who ‘wants’ to let to illegal immigrants – but it will add more red tape to the lettings sector as a whole.

Tony Coe, chief executive of relocation company Saunders 1865, says in Personnel Today that companies with incoming overseas staff working for short periods of time in the UK may find additional bureaucracy. 

“What it will do is add unnecessary red tape, lead to delayed travel for staff plus more complex and expensive transactions” he says. 

“The major concern for anyone in HR relocating international staff to the UK is this – assignees not being allowed into rental homes due to landlord fears over contravening the right to rent laws. Right to Rent is supposed to stop illegal immigrants from depleting the UK’s scarce supply of rental homes yet it may cause difficulties for bona fide businesses who are attempting to legally relocate employees to the UK” he adds.

“In my opinion, Right To Rent will not change the behaviour of landlords who rent to illegal immigrants one iota.”