Possible problems renting a flat/house before they obtaining visa

We were filling out the paperwork for a house that my mil looked at and showed us through Facetime.  The letting agent and landlord agreed to our rent amount, etc.

The company that obtains references, etc. asked for paperwork (passports or visas) for all persons living in the house.  I am still waiting for my visa but will not be contributing to the rent.  They kept sending emails in red saying you MUST have a visa to obtain a property. 

So my husband calls the letting agent and she said that was a law in England but not Scotland, so we should be okay.  But I wonder if anyone else has had this problem - I hadn't seen it mentioned in any posts. I thought it was important - if this was a law in Scotland we would have lost the house and may considered not moving there.

You can't be on the lease if you don't yet have a visa.

But the responsibility to check is with your landlord (they can be fined).  There's no penalty for you being on a lease and UKVI discovering.

The "check if someone has the right to rent" checker only works in England but the wording is for the UK.

Personally I'd recommend that you have the lease solely in the UKC's name and then ensure they will grant permission for you to occupy after you receive your visa.  Keeps everyone's noses clean.

They probably want application fees from both of you.   

It is correct that in England it is illegal to rent to anyone without a valid visa... the landlord can be fined £3,000 if they rent to someone who doesn't have the right to rent (see: https://www.gov.uk/check-tenant-right-to-rent-documents)

However, as you mention, I don't believe this applies in Scotland, at least not yet, anyway.

I've found a couple of articles which mention that the scheme has not yet been implemented in Scotland, and discuss what may happen if it is:

http://www.tcyoung.co.uk/blog/2017/private-landlord/right-to-rent-mean-for-scotland

http://www.scottishhousingnews.com/6105/right-to-rent-immigration-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-across-england-from-february/#

https://www.propertytribes.com/right-to-rent-scheme-in-scotland-t-127628428.html

However, the second link does say:

The Scottish Government has said it will do all it can to stand against the proposal but confirmed that the bill will enable UK ministers to extend the eviction measures to Scotland through secondary legislation.

Interesting ksand.  I read it as though they couldn't validate right to rent for Scotland but that it was still enforceable.

I still stand by my "what I would do" though.   

Interesting ksand.  I read it as though they couldn't validate right to rent for Scotland but that it was still enforceable.

I still stand by my "what I would do" though.   

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure whether it could be enforced or not.

I would probably go with your advice though, and if possible, get the lease issued in only the UK citizen's name, with a letter from the landlord giving permission for the visa holder to live there when they have their visa.

These letting agents are driving me crazy!  The Scottish letting agent tells us this isn't the law in Scotland and she would speak to the reference checkers.  So they stop emailing us and the letting agent says her supervisor will handle things.  So she sends us all the details etc and then sends us an email saying "Just to confirm if your partner does not have a valid visa she will not have the right to reside in the uk due to the new right to rent legislation that is in place, so will not be permitted to live in the uk until this visa can be provided".

Don't these people communicate with each other?  It seems like no one knows what the other one has said.  We get the same emails from 2 or 3 different people.

Ah, interesting. It kind of seems to go like that here, sometimes!

I dealt with a branch of a government office re: residency cards and got two answers, each completely the opposite of the other, from two people in one office, on the same day.