THE hostile Brexit atmosphere means many landlords are now refusing to consider renting to non-British nationals, including citizens from the European Union.

Some 44 per cent of private rented sector landlords are less likely to rent to those without a British passport, up from 42 per cent a year ago, according to research from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

The research also found that landlords are reluctant to rent to European Union citizens due to concerns about Brexit.

Some 20 per cent of landlords said that they are less likely to consider letting property to EU or EEA nationals, up from 17 per cent in 2017.

The research reveals that the fear of getting things wrong also means that 53 per cent of landlords are now less likely to rent to those with limited time to remain in the UK, up from 49 per cent in 2017.

Under the UK Government’s Right to Rent scheme, introduced in 2016, landlords must carry out immigration checks to make sure they do not rent a property to someone who does not have the right to live in the UK.

The RLA and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) both argue that the policy discriminates against foreign nationals, especially those who cannot easily prove their right to remain in the UK.

The RLA is calling for the Right to Rent policy to be scrapped altogether, arguing that it discriminates against those unable to easily prove their identity and foreign-born nationals who have documents unfamiliar to landlords.