People earning more than £30,000 are being told they don’t have enough money to qualify for so-called affordable rent schemes in London.
Under the deals, renters on lower incomes should be able to secure homes at rates below market value.
But the BBC has found that some landlords insist on applicants earning between £35,000 and £60,000 to stand any chance of being accepted.
MPs say the regulator needs to investigate how tenants are chosen.
The term “affordable housing” covers various schemes to rent or buy, each with their own qualifying criteria, but the application system and terminology can be confusing.
Affordable rent schemes were introduced in 2011 for people “on limited incomes”, according to the UK government’s housing department. Rates are set at least 20% below market value in any given area. Councils, housing associations and private firms can all offer affordable rents as long they are a “registered provider” of social housing.
But many landlords don’t publicly list how much they expect applicants to earn in order to be able to qualify.
Looking through adverts of affordable housing to rent in London, the BBC found that 28 out of 40 listings seen did not state a minimum income requirement.
Eleven of those that did advertise minimum income criteria required between £30,000 and £60,000. There was one exception of £27,750.
The median income in the capital is £36,749 per year, according to Office for National Statistics data.
Housing charity Shelter told us people on lower incomes were “effectively being screened out” by housing providers, in favour of higher-earners seen as less likely to miss monthly rent payments.
Government cuts to affordable housing funding have meant providers must be “really focused on their bottom line”, says the charity’s head of policy, Charlie Trew.
The BBC put that to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – but it did not provide a response.
We also asked whether renters on lower incomes were being “screened out”.
In a statement, a spokesperson said that “affordable housing is for those on limited incomes and offers must reflect this”.
They added that it was “completely unacceptable” that providers were “misleading tenants with inaccurate advertising”.
