Government plans to make landlords police immigration "must deliver sufficient benefit to justify the cost and consequences of the obligation", the British Property Federation (BPF) has said.

It has been announced that from 1, February 2016, all private landlords in England will have to check new tenants have the right to be in the UK before renting out their property.

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Those that fail to check 'Right to Rent' will face penalties of up to £3,000 per tenant.

The BPF stated the Government's owned evaluation revealed the pilot scheme in the West Midlands only identified 63 new illegal migrants over a half-year period.

Melanie Leech, Chief Executive of the BPF, said: "We can understand why Government is seeking to find new ways to police immigration, and most good landlords will already make identity checks. 

"Given that the pilot scheme did not unearth huge number of illegal tenants, this suggests that the Government should proceed cautiously, as it has done so far, in order that the costs of these measures do not disproportionately burden landlords and outweigh the benefits of the scheme."

(LM/CD)