Landlord rent checks could cause 'everyday racism', Labour warns

Labour has accused the government of planning legislation that could cause "everyday racism" and "widespread discrimination" in the housing market.

The Immigration Bill will make it a criminal offence to rent accommodation to illegal immigrants.

But shadow home secretary Andy Burnham told the Independent on Sunday it could cause problems for "anyone with a foreign-sounding name".

The Home Office said checks had to be made "on a non-discriminatory basis".

The Residential Landlords Association, which represents landlords in England and Wales, voiced concern about landlords being "criminalised", and urged adequate support to carry out the checks.

'Hostile environment'

The bill, which returns to the House of Commons on Tuesday, includes the Right to Rent scheme.

This would see landlords required to carry out checks on prospective tenants, such as seeing their passport or visa, to ascertain their immigration status.

Failing to do so would be a criminal offence leading to a fine or a jail sentence.

Mr Burnham, describing the bill as "disproportionate, divisive, deceitful", said: "The aim of the Immigration Bill is to make Britain a 'hostile environment' for illegal migrants.

"In practice, it could end up making Britain a more hostile place for anyone with a foreign-sounding name."

Mr Burnham said society had advanced since landlords used to display discriminatory messages in their windows in the 1960s.

"But the new document checks could become the modern equivalent of the 'no dogs, no blacks, no Irish' signs and, by being more insidious, such casual discrimination will be far harder to challenge," he wrote.

He claimed the scheme was at odds with Prime Minister David Cameron's speech last week in which he raised the problem of young job-seekers with "white-sounding names" on their CVs getting a better response than others.

Mr Burnham said Labour would not "pander to prejudice" and called on Home Secretary Theresa May to rethink the plans.

'Breaking the law'

A Home Office spokesman said: "The government has made clear that the Right to Rent scheme is about reducing illegal migrants' access to services - it has never been targeted at people with a lawful right to be in the UK.

"Right to Rent checks must be performed on a non-discriminatory basis - landlords are advised to check and record identity documents for all new tenants.

"Anyone who discriminates would be breaking the law."

A pilot of the Right to Rent rule was introduced in the West Midlands in December 2014.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said its own research suggested the Right to Rent policy "encourages discrimination".

The organisation's chief executive Saira Grant urged proper scrutiny of the scheme, adding the Home Office should make its own findings public before rolling it out nationwide.

Alan Ward, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association, which represents 40,000 landlords, told the BBC it had been working with the Home Office throughout the past year.

"The RLA is asking for adequate support for landlords to be able to fulfil the process," he said.

"What we are concerned about is landlords being criminalised."

He said it was inevitable that landlords would "err on the side of caution" when they were at risk of prosecution.