The Home Office’s latest Right to Rent consultation has reopened a long-running problem for landlords: how to carry out immigration checks without creating fresh discrimination risk.
The consultation, which closed on 29 April, proposed changes to the code of practice for landlords and agents on avoiding unlawful discrimination when carrying out Right to Rent checks. But the Chartered Institute of Housing said the draft changes do not deal with the deeper problem that the policy itself can distort landlord behaviour in a tight rental market.
CIH says new code will not fix the core issue
In its formal response, CIH said it welcomed an updated code in principle but remained opposed to Right to Rent checks because of their wider effect on access to housing. The body pointed to earlier Home Office pilot research, evidence from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and newer sector studies suggesting renters without a UK passport can face added friction when applying for homes.
For landlords, the pressure point is practical as much as political. The rules already carry financial risk if checks are done wrongly, and many landlords will take the safest administrative route when choosing between applicants. CIH’s argument is that this risk can push landlords and agents towards blanket avoidance of anyone whose documents look more complex.
The organisation also highlighted a 2024 landlord survey which found 56 percent of respondents who said they could not let to people without a UK passport blamed the risk of a civil penalty under the scheme. That matters because the government’s wider rental reform programme is supposed to narrow barriers to access, not create new ones through compliance fear.
Landlords now face a tighter compliance environment
The consultation comes just days after the Renters’ Rights Act took effect in England on 1 May. Landlords are already adjusting to new rules on discrimination, tenancy structure and possession, while also keeping up with separate Home Office compliance duties.
That overlap creates a real operational issue. A landlord can be told to avoid unlawful discrimination while also being warned about penalties for failing to complete immigration checks correctly. In practice, many will want clearer guidance, simpler document processes and more confidence that using lawful alternative check methods will not expose them to extra risk.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on the Home Office’s updated Right to Rent discrimination rules, which set out the government’s attempt to stop landlords favouring one checking route over another. The latest consultation response suggests that code changes alone may not be enough if landlords still see complex documentation as a compliance hazard.
There is also a broader legal angle. The Housing Hub guidance introduced under the new rental regime makes clear that discrimination against renters with children or those receiving benefits is now unlawful. That adds to the pressure on landlords to show decisions are based on lawful checks and evidence, not assumptions about risk.
Landlords reviewing their referencing process should also look again at how advertising and tenant communications are handled. Landlord Knowledge recently covered the legal risk around discriminatory rental adverts, and the same principle applies here: wording, process and record-keeping now matter more than ever. The full CIH response to the consultation sets out why the body thinks code changes alone will not solve the problem.
For now, the practical takeaway is that Right to Rent remains in force, but the policy debate around it is getting sharper rather than quieter. If ministers want landlords to comply with confidence, they may need to do more than refresh guidance pages.
What this means for landlords
- If you use agents: check they are not steering applicants towards one Right to Rent route by default.
- If you self-manage: review your referencing and document-check process so decisions are recorded consistently.
- Watch for: any Home Office follow-up after the consultation, especially on clearer examples and accepted check methods.
- Compliance point: make sure staff or family members involved in lettings understand that complex documents are not a reason to avoid an applicant.
- Bottom line: the legal risk now runs both ways – poor checks can trigger penalties, but poor process can also create discrimination exposure.
Editor’s view
Landlords do not need another vague compliance duty layered onto an already crowded rulebook. If government wants fairer access and better compliance, it needs a system that ordinary landlords can follow without feeling they are one paperwork slip away from a penalty.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 7 May 2026
Sources: Home Office, Chartered Institute of Housing
Related reading: Home Office tightens Right to Rent discrimination rules
