Compulsory checks by landlords on tenants’ immigration status will be rolled out across the UK in February, the Home Office has announced, despite fears that they encourage discrimination and could make it harder for international students to rent.
The ‘right to rent’ scheme poses a “clear risk of discrimination” towards international students, Dominic Scott, chief executive of the UK Council for International Student Affairs, told The PIE News.
“Just how students who are trying to find accommodation when outside the UK will manage, we will have to see”
The legislation, which follows a six-month pilot in the West Midlands, will require landlords to ensure prospective tenants have documents proving their right to be in the UK, and conduct follow-up checks if their right to remain expires during their tenancy.
They must report any tenants in the country illegally to the Home Office or face a fine of up to £3,000.
Student accommodation is exempt from the requirements, but landlords letting private housing to students will be required to make the checks.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has warned that the scheme will make it harder for some people to rent.
In a recent JCWI survey, 42% of landlord respondents said right to rent would make them less likely to let to someone who does not have a British passport, while 27% said they would be wary of letting to someone with a ‘foreign-sounding’ name or accent.
“We are extremely concerned about the introduction of these checks and made our views known when the policy was initially proposed,” said Scott.
Scott went on to say that the pilot scheme was “hardly representative as the period did not include the peak arrival times for students”.
Landlords who find that their tenants are in the UK illegally must report them to the Home Office or face a fine of up to £3,000
“Just how those who are trying to find accommodation when outside the UK will manage, we will have to see,” he commented.
Announcing the national rollout, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “Right to rent is about deterring those who are illegally resident from remaining in the UK. Those with a legitimate right to be here will be able to prove this easily and will not be adversely affected.”
However, the JCWI has warned that current safeguards against discrimination are “insufficient”.
It added that 81% of the tenants surveyed in the pilot area had not received any advice on how to prepare for the checks.
According to the Home Office, 109 people were identified as being in the country illegally through the pilot and five landlords have been penalised.
“It all seems unfortunate and unnecessary and we will briefing various parties as the proposals move through to the House of Lords as will presumably universities and colleges via their chancellors and key contacts,” added Scott.
