11^th Mar 2019

The government has been constantly badgered to kick out their Right to Rent policy that forces all landlords to carry out immigration checks on new tenants. It has just been slammed by a High Court ruling that the policy is discriminatory and therefore breaches human rights legislation.

The onerous Right to Rent policy was first introduced in 2016 which made it mandatory for all landlords to carry out immigration status checks on tenants.

The Home Office is hoping to roll out the scheme in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, however judges have ruled against this for the time being. The reason given was that the scheme needs to be properly evaluated, as evidence so far “strongly showed” that Right to Rent is making landlords discriminate against potential renters because of their ethnicity and nationality.

Mr Justice Spencer concluded: “The safeguards used by the government to avoid discrimination, namely online guidance, telephone advice and codes of conduct and practice, have proved ineffective.

“In my judgment, in those circumstances, the government cannot wash its hands of responsibility for the discrimination which is taking place by asserting that such discrimination is carried out by landlords acting contrary to the intention of the scheme.”

The challenge was taken to the High Court by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) which has fiercely opposed the policy as it believes it leads to active discrimination by landlords who are being forced to become 'border police’.

The legal policy director for the JCWI, Chai Patel, said: “There is no place for racism in the UK housing market. Now that the High Court has confirmed that Theresa May’s policy actively causes discrimination, Parliament must act immediately to scrap it.

“But we all know that this sort of discrimination, caused by making private individuals into border guards, affects almost every aspect of public life – it has crept into our banks, hospitals, and schools.

“The judgment only reveals the tip of the iceberg and demonstrates why the Hostile Environment must be dismantled.”

A trade body's research found that just under half of landlords (44%) are now less likely to consider renting their properties to prospective tenants who do not have a British passport, as they are living in fear of being prosecuted and fined.

With the Brexit situation in a state of flux, 20% of landlords are now uncertain as to whether they should take on EU or EEA nationals as tenants.

A spokesperson for the trade body, commented: “The ruling is a damning critique of a flagship government policy. We have warned all along that turning landlords into untrained and unwilling border police would lead to the exact form of discrimination the court has found.

“We call on the government to accept the decision, scrap the Right to Rent, and consider what else can be done to sensibly manage migration, without having to rely on untrained landlords to do the job of the Home Office.”


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