Brits who rent room to illegal immigrant to face fines of up to £5,000

Brits who rent a room to an illegal immigrant will face fines of up to £5,000 under new measures

• The current fine of £80 per lodger will increase to £5,000 early next year 

Homeowners who rent a room to an illegal immigrant will face fines of up to £5,000 under new measures announced today.

Britons who fail to check whether a foreign national lodger has the ‘right to rent’ in this country will see fines spiral more than 60-fold.

The current fine of £80 per lodger will increase to £5,000 early next year.

Landlords who rent entire properties to foreign nationals who do not have the right to be in the UK will see fines shoot from £1,000 per occupant to £10,000.

And a new crackdown on illegal working will also see huge increases in fines for employers who fail to check whether a member of staff has the right to work.

Homeowners who rent a room to an illegal immigrant will face fines of up to £5,000 under new measures announced today (File image)

The penalty which currently stands at £15,000 will soar to £45,000.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said: ‘Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings.

‘Unscrupulous landlords and employers who allow illegal working and renting enable the business model of the evil people smugglers to continue.

‘There is no excuse for not conducting the appropriate checks and those in breach will now face significantly tougher penalties.’

Civil penalties for employers were introduced by Labour in 2006 and were expanded to landlords eight years later.

A Home Office spokesman said today’s MON announcement was the ‘biggest shake up of civil penalties since 2014’.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick (pictured) said: ‘Making it harder for illegal migrants to work and operate in the UK is vital to deterring dangerous, unnecessary small boat crossings’ 

READ MORE: Thousands of British families are being left homeless as government pays for rental homes for boat migrants

Under the moves, employers who carry out repeat breaches will also face fines of up to £60,000 per worker, up from £20,000 currently.

Repeat breaches for landlords will increase to £10,000 per lodger, up from £500, and £20,000 for each occupant of a fully rented-out property, up from £3,000.

Later this year the Home Office will also launch further moves to crack down on licensed businesses which are employing illegal workers.

Since 2018 more than 230 civil penalties worth £215,000 have been imposed on landlords.

Over the same period, 4,000 civil penalties have been issued to employers with a total value of £74million.

Officials believe illegal working and renting are ‘significant pull factors’ for Channel small boat migrants.

Employers and landlords are required to carry out online checks on employees or tenants on a government website, and make copies of their identity documents.

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