AISA Conference 11 th April 2016 Sarah Woods Housing and International Student Adviser Sheffield University Students Union

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1 AISA Conference 11 th April 2016 Sarah Woods Housing and International Student Adviser Sheffield University Students Union

2 Section 22, 2014 Immigration Act, rolled out across England from Policy intention to create hostile environment for illegal immigrants to live in UK. RTR means allowed to occupy private rented residential accommodation by virtue of qualifying immigration status Occupier is person authorised to stay in property; as tenant, lodger, licensee, subtenant, paying guest

3 Landlords & Agents Resident Landlords/Owner occupiers who take in lodgers Tenants who sublet without permission from landlord They can face a penalty of up to 3000, if they do not carry out check ( & establish statutory excuse) and let the property to a person without valid immigration permission to be in UK.

4 Everyone over 18 entering into residential tenancy after Applies to all home and international students UNLESS Excluded tenancy Not your main home Landlord is parent Short stay holiday accommodation e.g. hotel Guest (not paying rent) Long lease (over 7yrs)

5 Unlimited British Citizen, EEA/Swiss national, Indefinite Leave to Remain Time limited Non EU Family member EEA/Swiss Person with valid immigration permission to enter or remain in the UK for limited time No valid immigration permission to be in the UK but you have been granted 'permission to rent' by the UK government (this only applies in exceptional circumstances).

6 Social housing & Local Authority housing Care homes Hospitals & hospices Hostels and Refuges Tied Accommodation Short term holiday accommodation Student Accommodation

7 Accommodation which is owned or managed by an institution established solely or mainly to provide courses for further or higher education OR A body established for charitable purposes to provide accommodation for students

8 Accommodation in a building used wholly or mainly for accommodating students. University owned and managed halls are exempt. Definition of student hall of residence is unclear and not specified in the RTR legislation. Most private purpose built/converted student halls of residence should also be exempt e.g. properties which fall under the ANUK code.

9 A tenancy will be excluded from RTR checks where there is a formal nomination agreement between a HEI/FE for a student(s) to occupy private accommodation. A nomination can take a variety of forms Must be written confirmation between HEI and landlord specific to one student and residential tenancy agreement. Should not be retrospective e.g. HEI cannot provide a letter of nomination after student has found accommodation.

10 Within 28 days of tenancy start date if person has limited LTR Landlord/Agent must check & take copy of original documents which prove tenant has valid immigration status. Or landlord should get confirmation from Landlord Checking service.

11 Full list of acceptable documents can be found in the RTR code of practice s/right-to-rent-landlords-code-ofpractice/code-of-practice-on-illegalimmigrants-and-private-rentedaccommodation#acceptable-documents List A UK/EU/ILR List B Limited LTR/LTE

12 UK Citizens Passport, birth certificate EEA & Swiss National Passport or national identity card Family members of EEA / Swiss nationals Family permit or residence card People with immigration permission to be in the UK Current passport containing a valid visa, or a valid Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

13 Conduct initial RTR document check If limited Leave to Remain landlord must check again in 12 months or date that leave expires (whichever is later) Landlords must report occupiers who no longer have RTR They have to retain document copies for 1 year after expiry of tenancy. They should not discriminate against non UK citizens and must check everyone. See Code of Practice for more details.

14 Student applying from oversees for accommodation Not possible to do RTR before granting tenancy. Landlord can carry out check after arrival in UK but before granting occupation. Landlords can also accept 30 day vignette as proof of RTR (time limited) Original Documents with UKVI Should give landlord application reference and they can use Landlord Checking service, guaranteed 2 day response!!

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16 What is the student accommodation provision in your local area? Are there student halls of residences? How much Uni accommodation is there? Is student housing in short supply? Does your HEI have good links(nominations) with local landlords/agents? What difficulties/issues do your international students have in finding accommodation and could RTR make things worse?

17 Student applying from oversees for accommodation Not possible to do RTR before granting tenancy. Landlord can carry out check after arrival in UK but before granting occupation. Landlords can also accept 30 day vignette as proof of RTR (time limited) Original Documents with UKVI Should give landlord application reference and they can use Landlord Checking service, guaranteed 2 day response!!

18 A further barrier for students coming to live in UK? Perception of UK as welcoming destination. Practical difficulties with supplying original documents & proving valid immigration status Direct/ Indirect Discrimination by landlords/agents Increased letting fees, charges imposed by landlords/agents to cover admin of RTR? Rogue landlords having access to important personal documents

19 Approx 25,000 students Around 7000 international students 6000 bed spaces in University owned/ managed accommodation Approx 1100 international students housed in University (RTR exempt) properties Estimated 17,000 students renting in private sector

20 Lobbying pre & post 2014 Immigration Act We set up a Working Group of relevant people across SU and University. Student Advice Centre, SU University Accommodation Services (ACS) propertywithus ACS Private Sector Team International Student Support English Language Teaching Centre International Office

21 We prioritised providing up to date information to students about RTR Union and University website Pre- arrival information audited and updated with RTR info and links to central information Social media campaign around launch, this will be repeated in June (most private tenancies start on ) International Student bulletin will run regular briefings

22 All international students who apply for University accommodation will now be allocated once CAS used, instead of having to wait for issue of Visa Additional House-hunting advice webchats for pre-arrival students International Office Ambassadors briefed on RTR Considered whether University could act as checking agent = NO Updated tenancy agreements Reviewing nomination agreements

23 Recognition that this is new for Landlords and some confusion & uncertainty in sector. Ultimately how landlords implement RTR checks is key to student experience of the scheme University Registered landlords have all been contacted and briefed Local landlords and agents invited to workshops on RTR

24 Advice pro reporting in SU (social policy flag) which will allow us to keep log of RTR issues University Dept's will also keep log of RTR queries. Plan to do a short survey of students around housing with questions on RTR experience

25 Please share other examples of good practice around RTR

26 Is there something you or someone in your organisation could/should be doing around RTR? Are there any ideas you can take away from today?