‘Landlords turned into border officials’ under Right to Rent warns Peer

A member of the House of Lords has criticised Right to Rent checks, saying they effectively turn “ordinary landlords into immigration officers.”

In England, the scheme requires landlords and letting agents to verify that all prospective tenants have the legal right to live in the UK before renting out a property.

Baroness Thornhill of the Liberal Democrats pushed for Amendment 115 to the Renters’ Rights Bill, which would abolish Right to Rent checks.

Turning landlords into de facto border officials

All landlords and their agents in England have a legal responsibility under the Immigration Act 2014 to prevent those without lawful immigration status from accessing the private rented sector.

Under the rules, the government can fine landlords and letting agents for failing to carry out right-to-rent checks. The maximum penalty for a first offence is now £20,000, a sharp increase from the previous £1,000.

Baroness Thornhill has called for the policy to be scrapped, warning that it encourages discrimination and places an unfair burden on landlords.

She said: “The Right to Rent was introduced as a mechanism to make it harder for those without legal status to live and work in the UK, part of the so-called hostile environment. It placed a legal obligation on private landlords to carry out immigration checks before renting out their property, turning them into de facto border officials.

“Landlords and letting agents are ordinary citizens who are neither trained nor equipped to make complex legal determinations. When even the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) is saying loudly and clearly that this is not working, you know it is not a good thing. You have to question its ability do what it says on the tin.”

Landlords fear the consequences of getting it wrong

She adds the NRLA warns Right to Rent is unworkable.

She said: “Landlords fear the consequences of getting it wrong, including fines and even prison, they are more likely to play it safe and reject any tenant who does not hold a UK passport. Both the NRLA and Shelter say that one in four landlords believe they can rent only to British passport-holders.

“The fact is that the government have turned ordinary landlords into immigration officers, no training or guidance, just threats of fines and prison sentences if they get it wrong. The resulting discrimination is plainly evident. Let us be clear: this is not just a policy failure; it is a moral failure”

No current plans to end the scheme

However, despite support from other Peers, Amendment 115 was rejected from the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, claims there’s insufficient evidence that Right to Rent is discriminatory.

She said: “The scheme has been independently evaluated twice. Although some examples of discriminatory attitudes were found, there was insufficient evidence to claim that there was any systematic, unlawful discrimination as a result of the right-to-rent scheme. There are therefore no current plans to end the scheme.”

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