UK law making landlords check passports "racist"

London

A SCHEME requiring British landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants discriminates against foreign nationals and Britons from ethnic minorities, a charity said on Monday.

The Right to Rent scheme, part of wider measures by the British government to tackle illegal immigration, threatens landlords and letting agents with a maximum £3,000 (S$5,304) fine or up to five years in prison if they fail to check the passport or immigration documents of tenants.