The Home Office may ask you to contact the Council in order to provide a housing condition report for immigration purposes. The Private Sector Housing Team are able to provide this report subject to availability of staff.
Why do we visit:
When an applicant from abroad comes to live in the United Kingdom, the Immigration Authority will ask them to provide certain information. This includes evidence that the house where the applicant will stay is safe and suitable accommodation and not overcrowded. This evidence must be from an independent body such as a qualified Surveyor or an Environmental Health Officer.
Contacting the Council:
To request a survey of the property that the person(s) seeking entry will stay, you will need to contact the Private Sector Housing Team Tel 01322 343152 or Contact the Private Sector Housing Team to request an inspection.
Staff will take any relevant details, including:
- address of house to be inspected
- sponsor's name
- applicant(s) name(s)
- relationship of applicant to sponsor
- date(s) of birth(s)
- length of stay
- Owner’s name and address
You will therefore need to make sure that you have the correct details (including spellings) with you. Please note that, if the house is rented, the Inspecting Officer will ask to see the current gas safety record where appropriate, a recent electrical certificate (if available) and an Energy Performance Certificate (from 01/10/08) which the landlord must provide to the tenant every 12 months. We may also need to see the Tenancy Agreement.
There is a fee of £165.00 per survey, which must be paid before the survey is carried out.
How to Pay:
By Post - send a cheque to Dartford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford, Kent DA1 1DR made payable to Dartford Borough Council and crossed A/C Payee. Clearly mark the cheque for Immigration Inspection on the reverse and the address where the inspection is taking place.
By Telephone: You can call the credit/debit card hotline on 01322 343760 between 9am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday, quoting 'Immigration Inspection'. You will be given a receipt number on payment. The Council can only accept payments by Maestro, Mastercard, Visa, Electron or Solo.
A survey of the property will only be arranged when all information has been provided and the fee has been received.
Surveying your house:
An officer from the Private Sector Housing Team will inspect the property to confirm the property:
- Is free from Category 1 and high Category 2 Hazards under the Housing Act 2004
- Is in reasonable state of repair, and
- Has sufficient space to accommodate both the current occupiers and any additional people who propose to live there
All rooms must be surveyed. It is a visual inspection and takes into account such things as the general state of repair, the presence of kitchen and bathroom facilities, heating and ventilation in the house.
The officer will also measure the size of rooms in your house so that an assessment can be made - regarding whether or not the house would become overcrowded if the person(s) seeking entry to the UK is/are added to the household.
The report will usually be produced within 5 working days following the visit.
The applicant is responsible for forwarding the letter to the appropriate authority in support of the application for immigration.
Please Note:
- We will not supply letters unless we have inspected the property
- The Immigration Authorities may not accept letters that are greater than 12 weeks old
- If your letter expires on this ground, we will not issue another until we have carried out a full investigation
It is therefore very important that you do not request an inspection of your property for immigration purposes until you are ready to submit your full application to the relevant authorities.