Immigration & private renting

Following widespread criticism of UK Government proposals to force all private rented sector landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants, the UK Government has announced that the policy will be subject to a trial period, with the Guardian effectively saying that Teresa May had been forced to drop the plans.

However, the plan is not yet defeated and there is still a chance that the policy may yet reappear on the national stage.

The recent report by the Home Affairs Committee stated that the trial would be six months long, and would then be evaluated and subject to a vote in Parliament before the policy is rolled out.

The report also highlighted many of the concerns that we, along with many other organisations, have expressed about this policy. Namely:

• increased discrimination against those from BME communities by over-cautious landlords;
• an increase in the number of people being driven to unscrupulous landlords;
• an increase in homelessness from those unable to rent anywhere legally;
• increased regulatory burden on landlords having to check complicated documents.

Thankfully, it seems unlikely that there will be significant progress on this issue before the next general election. However, as UK Labour has come out in support of the Bill, meaning there is a risk that if and when the proposal does return it may have enough political support to be rolled out nationwide whatever the outcome of the election.

The trial will be critical to this roll out but it is difficult to see how a limited trial can show any accurate results, given anyone affected would be simply able to move to an area outside of the trial. It will be interesting to see how much is spent on enforcement and educational resources for landlords in this trial and what the cost of a nationwide roll-out would also be.

Any trial is unlikely to bear much relation to the impact of the policy on Wales, given that if the trial occurs in London the population and the housing stock bear little relation to most parts of Wales.

While it is possible that this policy will never see the light of day, there is still a need for us to keep an eye on these developments and ensure that if it becomes law, its impact in Wales is minimised.

Tai Pawb, along with the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru, Community Housing Cymru and TPAS Cymru, wrote to the Welsh Minister for Housing, Carl Sargeant AM, expressing our concerns. We stated that, as this is predominantly a housing policy, we believed that it should be decided on in Wales by the Welsh Government.

We received a positive response which you can read here, with the Minister saying that he “will be working to mitigate any negative impact where possible”.

When any trial occurs, those who want to see housing as a driver for equality rather than a barrier to it must pay attention to its results. Unfortunately, immigration debates are all too often used for political gain rather than to supporting those at risk in our communities.

But ultimately we must ensure that in Wales we do not fall into this trap and ensure our policies in housing remain fair to all.

We will be keeping a close eye on this policy, and would urge others in Wales to do the same.

Alicja Zalesinska is the Director of Tai Pawb. Tai Pawb (housing for all) is a charity whose mission is, “To promote equality and social justice in housing in Wales”.