High Court agrees to allow a judicial review of the Government’s Right to Rent policy
Following the decision of the High Court yesterday 6th June 2018 to allow a judicial review of the Government’s Right to Rent policy, David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association, commented:
“Landlords will welcome the High Court decision to allow a judicial review of the Right to Rent policy which has put them in the impossible position of acting as untrained Border Police trying to ascertain who does and who does not have the right to be in the country.
“This has created difficulties for many legitimate tenants as landlords are forced to play safe and only rent to those with a UK passport.”
“The announcement is an important step towards overturning a policy which the government’s own inspectorate had described as having yet to demonstrate its worth.”
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) supported an application by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) heard in the High Court today for a Judicial Review of the policy. Both organisations argue that the policy discriminates against foreign nationals, especially those, such as the Windrush generation, who cannot easily prove their right to remain in the UK.
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has been granted permission by the High Court to proceed with their legal challenge against the policy, which the RLA supports.
Research by the RLA has found that, as a result of the Right to Rent policy, 42 per cent of landlords are now less likely to rent to someone without a British passport for fear of prosecution for getting things wrong. This poses serious difficulties for the 17 per cent of UK residents who do not have a passport, a group that is more likely to be in rented accommodation.
Nearly half, 49% of landlords are less likely to rent to someone with limited leave to remain and 44 per cent of landlords would only rent to those with documents familiar to them. In practice, this is likely to again mean a British passport.
Read the latest news item 6th June 2018 in full click here.
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