Calls for PRS landlord immigration tenant check in UK to be scrapped

The need for private sector landlords in the UK to carry out immigration tests on new tenants should be scrapped as it means those without a British passport are less likely to get accommodation, it is claimed.

Nearly half of landlords are less likely to rent homes to tenants without a British passport as a result of the immigration tests they have to carry out under the Government’s Right to Rent rules, according to research from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

It says that it is not just citizens of other countries that are affected as around 17% of British citizens don’t own a passport, some because they cannot afford one and don’t need one as they also cannot afford to travel abroad.

Overall 51% of landlords said that they are less likely to consider letting to people who are currently outside the UK and with uncertainty surrounding the status of European Union citizens some 22% said that they are less likely to rent property to nationals from the EU or the European Economic Area.

The research suggests that the decision to introduce criminal sanctions in December 2016 for landlords found to know or have reasonable cause to believe that a tenant does not have the right to rent has made landlords even more concerned about renting property to those unable to prove their identity easily.

With landlords concerned about the potential if they make a mistake, the RLA is supporting an application for a judicial review of the Right to Rent policy by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants on the basis that it discriminates against those who cannot easily prove their status, even if they have the right to rent property.

‘These figures show the damage that the right to rent scheme is causing for those who might have the right to rent property, but cannot easily prove their identity. The added threat of criminal sanctions is clearly leading many landlords to become even more cautious about who they rent to,’ said RLA policy director, David Smith.

‘This is a dangerous and divisive policy that is causing discrimination. It must be scrapped,’ he added.