British citizens without a passport are finding it harder to rent accommodation since the introduction of immigration checks on new tenants.

Forty-three per cent of private landlords said they were less likely to rent to people who cannot produce a British passport because they feared criminal sanctions if they were tricked by false documents, a survey has shown.

This means that the 17% of UK residents who do not have a passport could be wrongly denied access to privately rented accommodation.

Nearly two-thirds of private landlords said they were also less likely to rent to migrants who are legally in Britain, but only have permission to stay for a limited period, while 56% said they were less likely to rent to someone from outside Europe.

The survey by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), which represents landlords in England and Wales, was carried out to assess the impact of the right to rent scheme introduced across England by the Home Office in February, as part of a drive to “create a hostile environment” for illegal immigrants in the UK. The scheme has yet to be introduced in Scotland or Wales.

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has reported that foreign-born residents were almost three times more likely than Britons to live in the private rented sector.

Landlords who fail to check that potential tenants have the right to be in Britain face a fine of up to £3,000. From next month, landlords who knowingly rent to people without permission to be in the UK will face a prison sentence.

The survey results were based on interviews with 810 landlords, 507 of whom had carried out a right to rent check in the past six months.

Two-thirds of those polled said they were worried they would make a mistake or be caught out by forged documents, and be unfairly fined. Only 13% said they had found a Home Office advice line helpful.

Dave Smith, the RLA policy director, said: “These survey findings confirm our fears. Those who cannot easily prove their right to live in the UK, whether they are British or not, are finding it harder to access homes to rent. This is particularly concerning for those UK nationals without a passport, many of them the most vulnerable in society.

“Landlords are quite reasonably becoming ultra cautious to avoid tough criminal sanctions and need reassurance that they will not be punished when they get fooled by false documents. They are not trained immigration officers.”

Smith called for clarity about the status of EU nationals living in Britain to prevent landlords from becoming nervous about continuing to rent to them if their legal position changes.

The RLA also wants to see clear guidance from the director of public prosecutions that landlords who try to do the right thing but are caught by forged documents will not face sanctions.

The Home Office said landlords were not being asked to be immigration officers. They said they recognised that not all British citizens hold passports and a range of documents were accepted to satisfy the simple checks.

The immigration minister Robert Goodwill said: “We are working to deliver an immigration system which is fair to those here legally and firm with those who try to break the rules. Following a pilot of the Right to Rent scheme, we have fully involved landlords and tenants ahead of its national roll out.



“We have made crystal clear that landlords will only be prosecuted if they knowingly rent to illegal migrants and that we will not criminalise those who have simply made a mistake or been misled by forged documents,” he added.