BREAKING NEWS

High Court rules “Right to Rent” Check breaches human rights!

The High Court in a ruling this morning have said it will be illegal to roll the “Right to Rent” scheme in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland without further evaluation!

This is the much-criticised regulation requiring landlords to be HM Border Force officials and ‘document proof’ that a tenant has the right to stay in the UK for the term of the tenancy and then further checks if required at a later stage.

Mr Justice Martin Spencer held that the scheme breached the European Convention on Human Rights on the basis that it discriminates against non-UK nationals with the right to rent and British ethnic minorities. Mr Justice Spencer, referring extensively to argument and evidence provided by the RLA, concluded that discrimination against non-UK citizens by landlords was taking place “because of the Scheme.” He went on to conclude that “the government’s own evaluation failed to consider discrimination on grounds of nationality at all, only on grounds of ethnicity.”

The Judge continued by finding that the Right to Rent “does not merely provide the occasion or opportunity for private landlords to discriminate but causes them to do so where otherwise they would not”, describing such discrimination by landlords a being “logical and wholly predicable” when faced with potential sanctions and penalties for getting things wrong.

He 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.”

This successful challenge was brought by the RLA and Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.

However, this does not mean at the moment that landlords in England can stop taking Right to Rent checks. it remains to be seen if the Government will make necessary policy and legal changes. Watch this space for update.