Private Rented Housing: Vetting
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of right to rent checks on non-UK passport holders on (a) the private rental sector and (b) levels of homelessness in Battersea.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
The Right to Rent Scheme was introduced to ensure only those lawfully in the United Kingdom can access the private rented sector, and to tackle unscrupulous landlords who exploit vulnerable migrants, sometimes in very poor living conditions.
The Scheme applies equally to everyone, including British and Irish citizens seeking accommodation in the private rented sector in England. There is an extensive list of documents that tenants can use to prove their right to rent. The Scheme has been independently evaluated twice.
Statistics on levels of homelessness are overseen by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The latest official data on statutory homelessness in England can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statutory-homelessness-in-england-july-to-september-2024.
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