Landlord refusing tenancy based on immigration status

This is a question that touches on the interaction between immigration law and housing law in England and Wales, and the answer is more nuanced than many people realise.

The Right to Rent scheme:

Under Part 3 of the Immigration Act 2014 (as amended by the Immigration Act 2016), landlords in England are legally required to check that prospective tenants have the right to rent residential property before granting a tenancy. This is known as the "Right to Rent" scheme.

This means a landlord is not only permitted but actually obliged by law to verify your immigration status before letting a property to you. If you cannot demonstrate a right to rent, the landlord commits a criminal offence by letting the property to you, and can face a civil penalty of up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and up to £20,000 for repeat breaches.

Who has a right to rent:

1. British citizens.
2. EEA and Swiss nationals with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
3. Persons with indefinite leave to remain.
4. Persons with valid leave to remain that permits them to rent (for example, a visa with no restriction on renting).
5. Certain other categories, including refugees, those with humanitarian protection, and those with an outstanding asylum claim or appeal in some circumstances.

If your immigration status falls within one of these categories, a landlord cannot lawfully refuse to rent to you on the basis of your nationality, ethnicity, or national origin, because that would amount to unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Where the line is drawn:

There is an important distinction between a landlord refusing to rent to you because you do not have a right to rent (which is lawful and indeed legally required of them) and a landlord refusing to rent to you because of your race, nationality, or ethnic origin even though you do have a right to rent (which is unlawful discrimination).

The Right to Rent scheme has been criticised by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and others on the basis that it encourages discrimination, particularly against people who appear to be foreign nationals or who have non-British names. A High Court judgment in 2019 (R (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 452 (Admin)) found that the scheme caused landlords to discriminate, though the Court of Appeal later overturned that finding on appeal in 2020.

The scheme currently applies only in England. It does not apply in Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Practical position:

If you do have a lawful right to rent, you should be prepared to provide the documents listed in the Home Office guidance on Right to Rent checks. Acceptable documents include a British or EEA passport, a biometric residence permit, a share code from the Home Office online checking service, or other documents specified in the statutory guidance. Having these ready can help avoid unnecessary delays or misunderstandings.

If you believe a landlord has refused to rent to you on discriminatory grounds rather than because of a genuine failure to pass a Right to Rent check, you may have a claim under the Equality Act 2010. You could raise this with the landlord directly, seek assistance from a local Citizens Advice Bureau, or contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

If you are unsure whether you have a right to rent, you can check via the Home Office's online "prove your right to rent" service, or seek immigration advice from an adviser regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner.

What matters most here is whether you do in fact have a right to rent. If you let me know your specific immigration status, I can give you a more targeted answer about your position and your options.