Discrimination Rules Every Landlord Should Understand

The law on discrimination is, I expect, something most landlords are a bit hazy about. Many will consider that, as it is their property, they can choose who they want to live in it.

This is true. Landlords cannot be forced to accept someone as a tenant who they don’t want.

However, if it can be proved that they have rejected someone for reasons that breach the discrimination rules, then they may be subject to a claim for compensation from the tenant (under the Equality Act 2020 rules) or a Civil Penalty Notice fine from the Local Authority (under the Renters Rights Act rules).

Let’s look first at the rules under the Equality Act.

The Equality Act 2010 and housing

Under this act, landlords and letting agents are prohibited from discriminating against tenants, prospective tenants and occupiers based on what are called ‘protected characteristics’.

So landlords/agents cannot treat someone less favourably if the reason for this is due to the person’s

• Age,
• disability,
• gender reassignment,
• marriage/civil partnership,
• pregnancy/maternity,
• race (including nationality),
• religion/belief,
• sex, and
• sexual orientation.

For example, a landlord cannot

• Refuse to accept someone as a tenant because they are gay, or
• because they are disabled. Or
• have different, less favourable tenancy agreement terms for women as opposed to men, or
• evict a woman because she becomes pregnant.

What about applicants on benefits or with children?

You may have noticed that the protected characteristics do not include people being on benefits or with children.

For a long time, it was assumed that because of this, it was acceptable for landlords to refuse tenants on this basis. However, in recent year,s courts have been developing rules for ‘indirect discrimination’.

This is where a policy or practice which appears to avoid the protected characteristics actually puts someone with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage.

So having a policy to refuse to accept people on benefits or with children can be discriminatory indirectly, as these people are more likely to be women. And sex is a protected characteristic.

There were a number of cases in which compensation was awarded, for example, Tyler v Carr, in which a disabled man was awarded compensation for indirect discrimination (discussed in this video).

The penalty under the Equality Act is for the person discriminated against to bring a claim for compensation.

Discrimination under the Renters Rights Act.

The Renters Rights Act 2025 now provides protection for tenants against discrimination by landlords and letting agents because they are

• On benefit, or
• Have children

These are set out in sections 33 and 34 for England (due to come into force on 1 May 2026), with similar rules for Wales (due to come into force on 1 June 2026) and Scotland (commencement date unknown).

The difference between these rules and those under the Equality Act, though, is that a breach of these sections of the Renters Rights Act 2025 is punishable by the Local Authority issuing a Civil Penalty Notice fine of up to £7,000. The recommended starting point is £6,000.

So if a landlord has a published policy of refusing to accept tenants on benefit, he can be both

• Sued by the tenant for compensation under the Equality Act, if the tenant can show that this is indirect discrimination, and
• Fined by the Local Authority under the Renters Rights Act.

Does this mean landlords must accept these applicants as tenants?

No, it does not. However, landlords and agents should treat those on benefit or with children in the same way as anyone else. Note also that:

• Section 41 of the Renters Rights Act makes it clear that landlords can take income into account when considering whether an applicant would be able to pay the rent on a tenancy. So if the rent is clearly unaffordable for that applicant, the landlord cannot be penalised for rejecting him and choosing someone else.
• If a property is clearly unsuitable for children, then so long as this is clear and set out in your records, a landlord/agent will not be penalised for choosing someone else.

There is also the fact that if there are many applicants for a property, the landlord/agent can only choose one. So long as their reason for choosing one person over another is unconnected with protected characteristics and is not specifically due to applicants being on benefit or with children, they should be safe from compensation claims or penalty fines.

But be very careful about the records you keep.

Record keeping

You need to keep detailed records as follows:

• Keep copies of all adverts and application forms
• Keep written notes explaining the reasons for refusal of applications and your selection proceed
• Make sure your records show clearly that decisions are not linked to protected characteristics or applicants being on benefit or having children
• Retain records for at least six years (as this is the limitation period for a compensation claim).

And finally

Landlords can still choose their tenants, but must be careful about HOW they choose and the records that they keep.

Poor wording, blanket policies or weak records can now lead to both compensation claims and Local Authority fines.

Remember that you can be required to disclose emails, texts WhatsApp messages and internal notes in compensation claims and local authority enforcement action.  So take care what you say and protect your position.