Immigration housing inspections

When someone makes an immigration application to come to the UK they may have to confirm they are moving into accommodation that is of a suitable standard and that will not be made overcrowded by their arrival.

A housing inspection carried out by one of our officers will confirm if the property meets the required standards.

The inspection

Our officer must confirm that the property:

  • is free from Category 1 and significant Category 2 hazards under the Housing Act 2004 and associated Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
  • is in a reasonable state of repair
  • has appropriate and sufficient heating for the whole property
  • has appropriate fire detection in place
  • complies with any other applicable housing and health and safety legislation
  • has sufficient space to accommodate both the current occupiers and any additional people who propose to live there
  • that it meets or can meet the government’s decent home standard (a decent home is one which is wind and weather tight, warm and has modern facilities.

Information we need to carry out the inspection

We require the following information to carry out the inspection:

  • the full address of the property that requires the inspection
  • the name, date of birth and passport number of the persons entering the UK
  • the name of the sponsor of the persons entering the UK
  • details of those already residing in the property (names and ages only)
  • a copy of the tenancy agreement or proof of ownership of the property (such as a copy of the title deeds or Land Registry entry showing ownership)

If the property is privately rented you will also need to provide:

  • the latest Gas Safety Certificate (if there is gas to the property)
  • a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) less than 5 years old and free of all Code 1 (danger present - risk of injury), Code 2 (potentially dangerous) and FI (further investigation required without delay) issues
  • an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a minimum rating of ‘E’ (this does not mean more appropriate heating and other energy efficiency measures will not be required)

How to request an inspection

The fee for an Immigration housing inspection and report is £150.

To apply and pay online you’ll need to:

  1. Have a credit or debit card ready to pay the fee
  2. Create an account or sign in if you already have one
  3. Select requests
  4. Select submit a request complaint  
  5. Select Immigration Inspection from the Request subject dropdown list
  6. Follow the onscreen instructions

Apply online for an immigration inspection

Remember to include the information we need to carry out the inspection.

An officer will then contact you to arrange a date and time for the inspection.

Following the inspection

Once the inspection is completed and if all items are found to be satisfactory you will be issued with a letter to confirm this which you can use to support the immigration application.

If there are works or actions needed to bring the property up to the required standard you will be advised of these. Once these have been completed, we will reinspect the property and issue a letter to confirm this.

In some circumstances if the items requiring action or work are considered as serious or likely to cause harm, we may serve a formal notice to ensure the appropriate works are undertaken to an acceptable level.