Thread by @JCWI_UK

*BREAKING*

The Court of Appeal confirms that the Government’s Right to Rent scheme, which forces landlords to carry out immigration checks, causes racial discrimination.

But judges stopped short of declaring it unlawful. So where do we go from here? [Thread]

[2/5] The Court of Appeal found, like the High Court last year, that the scheme increases racial discrimination in the rental market.

It takes BME people and migrants twice as long to find a home to rent as a white person with a British passport.

[3/5] That’s because Right to Rent turns landlords into border guards and incentivises discrimination.

Huge fines for renting a home to someone without the right papers, but virtual impunity for quietly passing over people of colour + migrants in favour of white British people.

[4/5] The judges say MPs + govt should decide whether the racial discrimination is “greater than envisaged”.

But no discrimination is acceptable.

#covid19 crisis shows the impact of inequalities, with BME people disproportionately affected. Overcrowded housing is a known risk.

The govt should be doing everything it can to stamp out discrimination. Instead it is actively increasing it.

So where do we go next? We will fight this all the way, seeking to appeal this in the Supreme Court.

Full statement + donate if you can at jcwi.org.uk/r2r