24^th Mar 2019

In reply to the High Court's ruling earlier this month stating that the Right to Rent scheme breaches human rights, Caroline Noakes the Minister of State for Immigration, has issued a written statement supporting the scheme and disagreeing with the decision.

The High Court's ruling that the scheme is actively 'promoting' discrimination and therefore contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights, it also stated that the government's pilot had not been scrutinised sufficiently to be classed as a proper evaluation.

The Joint Council for Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) and an industry trade association applied for a High Court case last year in December.

The JCWI used evidence gathered from its report 'Passport Please', as it found that 51% of the landlord that took part in a survey were extremely concerned by the Right to Rent scheme, and because of this they were less likely to rent out their properties to foreign nationals.

The Government states that the pilot scheme was sufficiently evaluated when Right to Rent was trialled in the West Midlands and its findings were published in October 2015.

Its findings were taken from 539 respondents to various online surveys; it also included a 'mystery shopping exercise's 322 encounters as well as twelve focus groups. According to the Home Office it had not found any form of systematic discrimination by private landlords against foreign nationals.

Unsurprisingly the government's written statement dismisses the High Court's ruling and it has achieved permission to launch an appeal against ‘all aspects of the judgement.’

Meanwhile agents and landlords letting out properties in England must follow the policy's instructions and continue with the Right to Rent checks.

The written statement from Caroline Nokes MP, on behalf of the Home Office, said:

“The law was and remains absolutely clear that discriminatory treatment on the part of anyone carrying out these checks is unlawful. And the Right to Rent legislation provides for a Code of Practice which sets out what landlords are expected to do.”

In response to the Minister’s written statement, The Liberal Democrats responded to the written statement by issuing issued a press release from their Home Affairs Spokesperson, Ed Davey MP:

“What will it take for the Tories to reverse their nasty, discriminatory Hostile Environment policies?

The Windrush Scandal should have been enough. Last week’s High Court judgement that the ‘Right to Rent’ checks breach human rights should have been more than enough.

But still Tory Ministers refuse to budge. Worse, they are now wasting taxpayers’ money on a legal appeal to keep their pointless, discriminatory ‘Right to Rent’ checks.

“The Liberal Democrats demand better. We demand an end to the Hostile Environment and an effective, compassionate fix to the immigration system.”



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