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The Home Office's controversial 'right to rent' scheme breaches human rights, according to a court ruling.

The rules mean landlords can face fines or imprisonment for failing to check whether tenants have a right to be in the UK.

Mr Justice Martin Spencer found that the Government's Right to Rent scheme has a "disproportionately discriminatory effect" and has had "little to no effect" on controlling immigration.

The judge ruled in favour of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), which claimed the scheme is "causing landlords to commit race discrimination against those who are perfectly entitled to rent".

The scheme, which is part of the Government's "hostile environment" policy and was introduced under the Immigration Act 2014, has been criticised for turning landlords into border police.

The Home Office had argued that the scheme is neither "directly or indirectly discriminatory" and is intended to discourage illegal residence in the UK.

But, in a decision given on Friday, the judge ruled the scheme is incompatible with the right to freedom from discrimination, enshrined in Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are disappointed with the judgment and we have been granted permission to appeal, which reflects the important points of law that were considered in the case.

"In the meantime, we are giving careful consideration to the judge's comments."

John Stewart, policy manager for the Residential Landlords Association, said: "Today's ruling is a damning critique of a flagship Government policy.

"We have warned all along that turning landlords into untrained and unwilling border police would lead to the exact form of discrimination the court has found.

"We call on the Government to accept the decision, scrap the Right to Rent, and consider what else can be done to sensibly manage migration, without having to rely on untrained landlords to do the job of the Home Office."

The Prime Minister's spokeswoman said: “The Home Office have been granted permission to appeal on this and they’ve already said they are disappointed with the judgement.

"So we will carefully consider that.

"The policy remains in place and there is no immediate change to it.

"Landlords and letting agents are still expected to conduct these checks, but the law is very clear that they should not discriminate when conducting checks.”