Human Rights Breached

The High Court has ruled that the Government’s Right to Rent scheme breaches Human Rights Law.

What Is Right to Rent?

Introduced by Theresa May during her tenure as Home Secretary, Right to Rent was part of the Government’s hostile environment policy aimed at tackling illegal immigration. While no landlord wants to rent their property to someone living in the UK unlawfully, this scheme shifts responsibility from the Home Office onto landlords.

The Burden on Landlords

Under Right to Rent, landlords must verify the immigration status of their tenants. However, landlord associations argue that this is unreasonable—especially since landlords face prosecution if they accidentally rent to someone without legal residency.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), supported by The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and Liberty, challenged the policy, arguing that it encourages discrimination against both legitimate non-UK nationals and British ethnic minorities.

What Did the High Court Rule?

The High Court sided with the JCWI, ruling that Right to Rent violates the European Convention on Human Rights.

• The Court found that the policy causes landlords to discriminate, even unintentionally.
• Mr Justice Martin Spencer criticised the Government’s safeguards—such as online guidance and telephone advice—stating they had failed to prevent discrimination.
• The Government’s own evaluation overlooked nationality-based discrimination entirely, focusing only on ethnicity.

What Happens Next?

Following the ruling, the RLA has urged the Government to scrap Right to Rent and develop a fairer, more effective immigration control system—one that does not rely on untrained landlords to enforce immigration laws.

This decision is a major blow to the hostile environment approach and raises questions about how the Government will reform its immigration policies in response.

The Future of Right to Rent and Immigration Control

The High Court ruling highlights the significant flaws in the Right to Rent scheme, particularly its potential to lead to unintentional discrimination. As the Government faces pressure to rethink its approach, a fairer and more balanced system is needed to ensure immigration control without burdening landlords or violating human rights. The ruling marks a turning point in the debate over the Government’s hostile environment policy, urging the creation of immigration strategies that prioritize fairness and human dignity.