Wife doesn't have right to reside

[Berlingogirl]

My prospective tenant (T) has the right to rent here because he has an appropriate visa and he works in this country. He's been here nearly 4 1/2 years and is going to apply for British citizenship so he seems ok.

However, his wife (W) does not have the right to live here, is applying for a visa, but T says it can take up to 6 months.

T wants W to come over and live with him if I give him the tenancy.

Where do I stand on this? Do I give him the tenancy but tell him W can't come and live here until she gets the visa? Can W stay for a limited time?

What happens if T brings W over here anyway? What can I do about it?

[jpkeates]

What happens if T brings W over here anyway? What can I do about it?

You notify the Home Office to protect yourself.

[ash72]

I think it's 5 years if a person has been living in the UK, then can apply for citizenship. Concerning the wife, it may be ok, if she has the appropriate visa status, normally as a spouse for a limited time. I would also only provide a 6 months tenancy, and only provide it in his name.

[gnvqsos]

You are renting to the one tenant, and the wife is a mere guest. You only need to vet a tenant, not their guests.I would report her presence if and when she arrives.

[KTC]

There's the question of the civil penalty notices that came in from the Immigration Act 2014, and then there's the question of the criminal offence that came in from the Immigration Act 2016.

For the penalty notice, you're liable if you grants a right to occupy someone who is disqualified as a result of their immigration status. You know from your discussion with the perspective tenant that T wants W to come over and live there so there's no question whether it is apparent to you that W is likely to be a relevant occupier. If W is disqualified, even if you grant the tenancy with a term that explicitly prohibit her from occupying the property, it is arguable that you "knew when entering into the agreement that the term would be breached". I don't even want to think about how the Family Law Act 1996 rights re. spouse occupation of matrimonial home plays with the Immigration Act.

For the criminal offence, if W is disqualified and take up occupation, you would know or have reasonable cause to believe that the property is being occupied by a disqualified person. There is a defence if reasonable steps are taken to terminate the tenancy within a resonable period of time, but you probably don't want to go to trial and see if you can convince the court of your defence.

Ultimately, conduct the right to rent test on both T and W. Since if W is okay, it'll be a right for a limited time, you'd need to do the check within 28 days before the start of the tenancy. If W doesn't pass, don't grant the tenancy unless you're happy that W will pass by the time she enters the country and you have no reasonable believe that she'll come over anyway if she doesn't get the appropriate rights.

[Berlingogirl]

Hmmmm..... this is difficult.

So, if I grant T the tenancy with W as a permitted occupier on the condition that she only starts occupation when she has the appropriate visa, and I put that in the tenancy agreement, would that be OK?

[Berlingogirl]

Right to reside - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

I've been looking at the above info and got even more confused.

If W gets a visa she will have the right to reside but not the right to stay.

Does that mean W can reside with T, but it's for a limited time ie whatever it says on the visa?

What happens when the visa time runs out?

[jpkeates]

What happens when the visa time runs out?

You're meant to check again at that point and tell the Home Office if they're still here.

[Berlingogirl]

Oh guess what?

I misunderstood what T had said to me.

W has the correct visa after all

Thanks everyone for your responses.

[DoricPixie]

You are renting to the one tenant, and the wife is a mere guest. You only need to vet a tenant, not their guests.I would report her presence if and when she arrives.

It’s not just the tenant named on the tenancy agreement who needs to be checked. It’s all occupants aged 18 and over.

Looks like Berlingogirl has it sorted though.

[jpkeates]

Technically the checks aren't mandatory, and the Supreme Court have asked Parliament to rethink them, because they're discriminatory.
So I can't imagine many prosecutions are happening.

[lauireb]

If unsure why not call the uk.gov right to rent landlord helpline?
0300 790 6268

[DPT57]

If unsure why not call the uk.gov right to rent landlord helpline?
0300 790 6268

Because in my experience they're next to useless.

[Berlingogirl]

Technically the checks aren't mandatory, and the Supreme Court have asked Parliament to rethink them, because they're discriminatory.
So I can't imagine many prosecutions are happening.

I thought they were mandatory.

[KTC]

I thought they were mandatory.

They're defence against the civil penalty / criminal offence if someone disqualified is living at a property you've let out. There's no penalty or offence for not doing the checks itself.