Right To Rent Unlawful For Breaching The Human Right Act

On 1^st March 2019, the High Court has held that the Right to Rent policy is in breach of the Human Rights Act, and therefore unlawful.

The rationale for this decision is that the policy in its entirety leads to landlords discriminating against certain groups of tenants. One of the main reasons Right to Rent was found “discriminatory” is that it has made landlords more likely to reject tenants without a UK passport.

However, despite this decision landlords and agents will need to continue with their checks as they have done in the past.

The Minister of State for Immigration, Caroline Nokes has issued a written ministerial statement in response to the High Court decision in the case of the JCWI against the Secretary of State. 

Ms Nokes finds the High Court decision disappointing and stresses that despite the decision landlords and agents are still obliged to carry out the RtR checks.

The Secretary of State has been granted permission to appeal this decision in the Court of Appeal. This matter is therefore by no means settled yet. If the Secretary of State succeeds in the Court of Appeal then the Right to Rent policy will continue. However, if the Secretary of State should lose then there will be the possibility of a further appeal before the Supreme Court which will take some months.