New data released by the Residential Landlords Association has revealed that Ministers have failed to publish any guidance for landlords about how the Right to Rent scheme will operate after Brexit.
The latest analysis of UK house prices from Halifax have shown that, during Q1, prices were 2.6% higher than in the same three months of 2018.
When measured quarterly, prices saw a 1.6% rise in Q1 compared to Q4 2018. House prices fell by 1.6% on a monthly basis, rebalancing the 5.9% rise seen in February.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: "The average UK house price is now £233,181 following a 1.6% monthly fall in March. This reduction partly corrects the significant growth seen last month and again demonstrates the risk in focusing too heavily on short-term, volatile measures. Industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages being approved remains around 40% below pre-financial crisis levels, and we know that lower levels of activity can lead to bigger price movements.
The more stable measure of annual house price growth rose slightly to 2.6% and is still within our expectation for the year. The need to build up a deposit before getting a mortgage is still a challenge for many looking to buy a property. However, the combined effect of fewer houses for sale and fewer people looking to buy continues to support prices in the long-term.
As a result of this government failure, many landlords are voicing concerns that EU citizens may face problems getting rented accommodation once we leave the EU.
Under the Right to Rent scheme, landlords are responsible for checking the immigration status of their tenants with the prospect of prosecution if they know or have "reasonable cause to believe" that the property they are letting is occupied by someone who does not have a right to rent in the UK.
David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association, said: "Landlords are not border police and cannot be expected to know who does and who does not have the right to live here.