Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many landlords have been convicted of renting properties to people without the right to reside in the country in the last five years.

Published data held by the Ministry of Justice shows that no landlords were prosecuted in relation to renting properties to individuals without the right to reside in the country in the last 5 years under the following offences in the Immigration Act 2016, and consequently there have been no convictions in criminal courts.

This act covers the following relevant offences:

1. Landlord of premises occupied under residential tenancy agreement by adult disqualified due to immigration status
2. Responsible landlord allows post-grant contravention in relation to residential tenancy agreement
3. Agent responsible for post-grant contravention in relation to residential tenancy agreement

Any cases heard at court as a result of prosecutions under the above offences are criminal offences. However, landlords can also be pursued via the civil jurisdiction, with Home Office holding the ability to hand down penalty notices as appropriate in individual cases.