Housing Solicitors

The new ‘Right to Rent’ scheme – an initiative requiring landlords to check the immigration status of their prospective tenants – has been accused of fuelling discrimination by a recent report by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).

The Right to Rent initiative means that landlords may charge renters extra fees for mandatory passport checks and this could put both foreigners and British citizens without a passport at a disadvantage in the private rental market.

The ‘Right to Rent’ scheme states that landlords are required to establish that all their prospective tenants have the right to be living in the UK; failure to do so leaves the landlord subject to a fine of up to £3,000 or up to five years in prison if the failure to complete the checks is consistent. Research carried out by the JCWI has affirmed that some landlords have involuntarily had to discriminate against prospective tenants as a result of the Right to Rent scheme.

A survey has concluded that more than 50% of landlords have stated that the ‘Right to Rent’ scheme will make them less likely to rent to foreigners, with 42% of landlords claiming they would be less likely to rent to non-British passport holders than British passport holders. This correlates to information found in a mystery shopping exercise demonstrating that a British Black Minority Ethnic tenant was 26% more likely to receive a negative response or no response to a tenancy application than a British Black Minority Ethnic tenant with a British passport. Meanwhile, a white British tenant without a passport was only 11% more likely to receive a negative response or no response to a tenancy application than a white British tenant with a passport. No racial discrimination was detected between the British Black Minority tenant and the white British tenant when both could provide a passport or legal documentation. Thus, discrimination appears to be emerging from the ‘Right to Rent’ scheme, which the report has argued should be scrapped.

Chief executive of JCWI Saira Grant has claimed that the ‘Right to Rent’ scheme is “failing on all fronts” and has to be stopped. Meanwhile, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association Alan Ward has expressed his agreement with JWCI’s concerns. Ward has pointed out that whilst over 400 documents could be considered acceptable as proof of right to rent, landlords are often only accepting documents that they are familiar with, again leaving some foreigners at a disadvantage in the private rental market.

Saniya Taqi of Duncan Lewis Solicitors comments:

“With the current housing crisis, tenants, in particular those who are in receipt of benefits are already struggling to find private rented accommodation. The introduction of the Right to Rent Scheme has only added to the housing crisis making it significantly more difficult for tenants to find accommodation. This will inevitably have an impact on local authorities who will be under more pressure to find suitable accommodation for individuals who are homeless. Landlords will be more reluctant to rent to those without a British passport and/or British Citizenship due to the fear of being heavily fined or imprisoned if they fail to follow the correct procedures or checks.”

Saniya Taqi is a Caseworker in the Housing Law Department at Duncan Lewis’ Harrow Office. Since joining Duncan Lewis in October 2016, Saniya has assisted on a variety of housing law matters, including disrepair, possession proceedings, eviction, homelessness, suitability of accommodation and harassment cases.

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors can guide clients in any matter or issues arising with local housing authorities, housing applications, tenants, landlords, ownership and repairs. With a niche expertise in Possession and Unlawful Eviction cases the Department holds a significant presence in County Court Possession Duty Schemes throughout London including the Central London County Court. The Housing Department also offers representation in all proceedings including reviews, appeals and judicial review proceedings relating to homelessness, disrepair, succession for tenants and neighbourhood disputes against local authorities.

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