Discrimination law

G_M

It is illegal to discriminate on the basis (amongst other things) of

race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin

So can a landlord treat a prospective tenant differently if they are not a UK National/UK Citizen? Does it make a difference if they are of EC origin? Outside the EC?

Can a LL decline to let on these grounds?
Can a LL require a UK national as a guarantor?

pyueck

G_M wrote: »

It is illegal to discriminate on the basis (amongst other things) of

So can a landlord treat a prospective tenant differently if they are not a UK National/UK Citizen? Does it make a difference if they are of EC origin? Outside the EC?

Can a LL decline to let on these grounds?
Can a LL require a UK national as a guarantor?

http://www.housing-rights.info/03_1_3_Discrimination.php

My understanding is yes it is illegal to discriminate based on nationality. Of course if the person does not have the right to reside in the UK then it is also illegal to rent to them.

Sometimes I think these laws can be harsh, as renting to a non UK national dramatically increases the risk of the tenant abandoning the property, and the debts of any non UK national are much harder to chase. Also it is harder to do a credit check and references on a non UK national. Therefore for these reasons I do think there is some extra risk.

jjlandlord

EU nationals are to be treated as 'locals'. This is why, e.g. if an EU national decide to sign up for University in Scotland they can't be charged tuition fees since Scots are not charged tuition fees.

In any case, you cannot discriminate based on nationality or origins.
You can only discriminate based on a non-protected characteristic or objective commercial risk.

For example, it would be fair to refuse to let to an EU national (or any foreigner, or even an UK national) who just moved to the UK if you cannot credit check him, and you could ask for a UK-based guarantor.

There is new legislation coming in requiring to check visas and their periods of validity so that would be a valid (indeed mandatory) reason to refuse to let to a foreigner from outside the EEA (which is larger than the EU).

pyueck wrote: »

Of course if the person does not have the right to reside in the UK then it is also illegal to rent to them.

Not 'of course'. This is illegal only based on the new legislation mentioned, which at the moment only applies in pilot areas, I believe.

pyueck wrote: »

Sometimes I think these laws can be harsh, as renting to a non UK national dramatically increases the risk of the tenant abandoning the property

Really?
Any reliable stats to back that up?

davidmcn

pyueck wrote: »

renting to a non UK national dramatically increases the risk of the tenant abandoning the property

Cite? Most of the non-UK nationals I know are very well established UK residents, and hardly likely to flee the country.

the debts of any non UK national are much harder to chase

Chasing a debtor who is not resident in the UK is harder, I don't see what difficulty their nationality brings.

Also it is harder to do a credit check and references on a non UK national

Possibly, but that's not a valid reason for rejecting them out of hand.

pyueck

davidmcn wrote: »

Cite? Most of the non-UK nationals I know are very well established UK residents, and hardly likely to flee the country.



Chasing a debtor who is not resident in the UK is harder, I don't see what difficulty their nationality brings.



Possibly, but that's not a valid reason for rejecting them out of hand.

Of course somebody who is not a UK national is more likely to leave the country and not return.

Have you tried chasing a debtor who lives in India, I have, no chance... I have also had a tenant in the past leave to go back to France without telling me. I do not know French laws so just wrote it off.

Somebody with no credit check could have any history of not repaying debt. I did not say I would reject them out of hand.

It's all about risk. If somebody has a long history of being in the UK, with a UK job and a UK credit history no problem at all. Somebody that has just come to the UK, has no UK credit history and is on a work visa (i.e. if they lose their job they are out) is a bigger risk.

jjlandlord

pyueck wrote: »

Somebody that has just come to the UK, has no UK credit history and is on a work visa (i.e. if they lose their job they are out) is a bigger risk.

Exactly as said, and this does not depend on nationality.
A UK national may have just moved to the UK, and a foreign national may have been here for a long time.

silvercar

Of course somebody who is not a UK national is more likely to leave the country and not return.

Why? They chose to come here, they may have no intention of returning. They may have come here to escape persecution.

theartfullodger

pyueck wrote: »

, as renting to a non UK national dramatically increases the risk of the tenant .....

Not based on my experience:

I have rented property to Portugese, Scots, English, Welsh, Chinese, Poles, Hungarians, Germans, Malayans etc etc and, by a street, I had the worst experience with the English, both by numbers & %. For the avoidance of doubt I am English, B&B.

And yes you can do cross-border recovery of debts: Needs care but it can & has (by me..) been done.

£5 to an agreed housing charity if you, Sir, can come up with some hard evidence to back up your discriminatory slur, which is not in line with those British traditions of decency & fair-play.

pyueck

theartfullodger wrote: »

Not based on my experience:

I have rented property to Portugese, Scots, English, Welsh, Chinese, Poles, Hungarians, Germans, Malayans etc etc and, by a street, I had the worst experience with the English, both by numbers & %. For the avoidance of doubt I am English, B&B.

And yes you can do cross-border recovery of debts: Needs care but it can & has (by me..) been done.

£5 to an agreed housing charity if you, Sir, can come up with some hard evidence to back up your discriminatory slur, which is not in line with those British traditions of decency & fair-play.

I think you have taken what I said the wrong way. I have and do rent to people who are not UK citizens and so long as they have a credit history, a UK job and and right to remain in the UK I don't see as any different risk to any other tenant.

What I was speaking about is where you have somebody with no UK credit history or no history of working or renting in the UK and no easy way to reference the history abroad. This is just the same as a UK citizen without these things would be a higher risk.

Apologies if you got offended by what I said, I should have worded it more clearly to distinguish between what I see as a risk (i.e. people who it is hard to check their credit and employment or rental history and who have short term leave to remain in the UK) as opposed to non UK nationals who have a UK credit rating, a UK job and permanent right to remain.

Please accept my apologies, hope this clears it up