Charity Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has this week launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a legal challenge against a further roll out of the Right to Rent scheme. Right to Rent – which requires agents and landlords to check the immigration status of prospective tenants – is currently only operational in England, but there are plans for it to be introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“We are throwing down the gauntlet and requiring that the Home Office re-evaluate before expanding the scheme outside England,” writes the council in a blog post announcing the crowdfunding campaign.

“We are writing to the Home Secretary to state that we consider any further roll out will be unlawful unless there is a thorough evaluation of the scheme in England, looking at discrimination and at the effectiveness of the scheme itself.”

The charity is urging supporters of its campaign to help it ‘hold the government to account and provide evidence for its policies’.

The controversial Right to Rent was introduced in England in February 2016. During its first year in operation it was reported that 91 landlords were handed civil penalties for non-compliance.

There have been several reports suggesting that the introduction of the scheme has increased discrimination towards overseas tenants.

Back in February, the JWCI reported that 51% of the agents and landlords it surveyed said that the Right to Rent scheme makes them less likely to consider letting to foreign nationals.

JWCI’s campaign has 29 days to run and has so far raised £645 of its £5,000 target through 24 donations (May 16th, 3.30pm).

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