tommy16013 wrote:khers wrote:tommy16013 wrote:Hello everyone,
I am EU national and my girfriend is non EU national currently living in London togheter for more than 2 years after i have been relocated from my previous work,
I do work and she finished her Master here in UK few months ago.
Her timeline is:
Application sent on 5/09
Biometric 18/9
Certificate of Apllication 30/10
Residence Card Pending
Now we are in a weird situation:
We would like to change house but since she is waiting her Residence Card, her checks for renting are automatically rejected. The Certificate of Apllication is not enough for letting agencies and as couple i also become automatically non elegible for rent.
Now this is quite funny, we cant leave the country because our passports are processing with all the documents and at the same time we cannot rent any proprety in London.
I don't know if anyone is in a similar situation but in my opinion this goes againt the basic Human rights. Let's pretend our current landlord kick us out the current property. That means for the British law that we can live without a house.
If anyone has any tips/lawyer experience please reply!
Thanks!
Tom
This is another part of the nightmare of the outrageous treatment dispensed to the EEA family members waiting for the residence card. There are not tenant's checks yet, except in the West Midlands. The tenant's right to rent will be verify from February 2016 by all landlords according to the xenophobic legislation of the actual government that is going to transform landlords in improvised immigration officers.
I am at the same situation. I suggest you to try to stay where you are, they can't ask you to leave the flat on the grounds of your EEA family member's lack of residence card. (In fact the residence card only confirms the previously acquired right but that is something they will not understand).
The Certificate of Application should be enough proof according to the same HO to allow you to rent a property, they will implement a telephone number where the landlords or letting agencies will be able to verify the tenant's right to rent, but from February 2016 as I've said before. They must not reject you because if would be "unlawful discrimination" when conducting right to rent check.
They alternatives you've got are
1) To write to the Home Office asking them if the CoA is enough for your couple to rent a flat, try to do so by normal mail so they can send you a formal letter (this is difficult because the answer will take time and possibly they won't answer). The letter will be your support in case of unlawful discrimination from letting agencies or landlords, because HO will explain that she's got the right to rent while she's awaiting the residence card.
2) Send an email to HO public enquiry, (will take 20 days to answer and sometimes they won't answer), the email will explain the validity of the CoA in order to rent property.
3) Tell the prospective landlord or letting agency to request a right to rent check through the eform from the HO:
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... ation.ofml
HO will answer with a yes or no about the right to rent. Using the Case ID or Reference Number would be enough to verify the CoA and to state that she can or not rent.
Here you can find more information about this matter:
https://www.gov.uk/check-tenant-right-to-rent-documents
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/righ ... in-england
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... f-practice
I hope this helps you.
Best Regards,
James
Dear James,
Sure it does! Thanks so much for your detailed reply, hope this converstation will be helpful to everyone that is in the same awful situation!
Yes, we can stay in our current proprety at the moment, but what if we get an eviction notice before February 2016? The law is completly unreasonable, and we will be unable to do anything without passport and right to rent.
We called the HO and they sent us a copy of the Certificate of Aplication but all the estate angencies refuse to rent us a place without her Residence Card. The Certificate of Application is not a valid document for them.
We also called Shelter.org.uk (an helpline) which helped us to understand what was going on. They confirmed that unfortunately we have no right to rent since my partner has no valid documents.
In conclusion for the british law if you are non EU partner of EU citizen, waiting for the Residence card you can't leave, but you can stay, but you can't rent anything (for 6 months).
Is that makes any sense?
Thanks again James!
Tom
Tom,
It really surprises me that shelter.org states that your partner has no right to rent. If you review the documents about right to rent from the same HO they state clearly that a Non EEA person with CoA waiting for a residence card has the right to rent, and the check from the landlord at the beginning of the contract will not be needed again until one year after that date.
The problem is they don't know the regulations and assume things without any knowledge (letting agencies, some landlords and shelter.org) and Home Office is not improving the service but each day making it worse. It's HO in this case who should state clearly the right to rent of an EEA family member with CoA waiting for residence card.
I suggest you to send immediately a public enquiry to
public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, explaining your situation and telling them to confirm if your partner has right to rent during the waiting time for the Residence Card (right that she has). Then show the answer to the shelter.org and to the letting agency.
The next time you contact an agency you can make them request using the eform the confirmation of right to rent.
And an eviction on the grounds of a lack of proper documents showing right to remain in UK would be unjustified and unlawful discrimination, because your wife has the Certificate of Application stating clearly that the Residence Card has been asked, and according to the same HO regulations that is enough to rent property until the person has the residence card on hand.
I hope that is useful Tom, wish you the best of luck, and I hope HO and the British Goverment changes this discriminatory and outrageous treatment to the EEA family members, and treat us as they are treated in the other EEA countries when they go with their couples.
Best Regards,
James
Best of Luck with every thing!!! 
