Section: Equality & Diversity

Report finds that Right to Rent scheme discriminates against foreigners from ethnic minorities

Posted 14.02.17
JCWI: Report link

A new report - Passport Please - from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) reveals that foreigners and British citizens without passports, particularly those from ethnic minorities, are being discriminated against in the private rental housing market as a result of the Right to Rent scheme.

The scheme requires landlords and agents to check the immigration status of all prospective tenants and refuse a tenancy to irregular migrants. If they fail to fully comply with the Right to Rent scheme, landlords face a fine of up to �3,000 or a prison sentence of up to five years.

The report found that:

51% of landlords surveyed said that the scheme would make them less likely to consider letting to foreign nationals.
42% of landlords stated that they were less likely to rent to someone without a British passport as a result of the scheme. This rose to 48% when explicitly asked to consider the impact of the criminal sanction.
An enquiry from a British Black Minority Ethnic tenant without a passport was ignored or turned down by 58% of landlords.

Section: Equality & Diversity

Report finds that Right to Rent scheme discriminates against foreigners from ethnic minorities

KeyFacts

Housing Monthly Diary

Reporting on February 2017

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