Discrimination rules: selecting tenants without breaking the law
Tenant selection is lawful; selection by prejudice is not. Two layers of law now govern the line.
The Equality Act layer
Direct and indirect discrimination against protected characteristics: race, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, age and others, has always been unlawful in letting. Indirect discrimination is the subtle trap: neutral-sounding policies that disadvantage a protected group need objective justification.
The Renters' Rights Act layer
The Act adds explicit bans on the rental market's two most common filters: no benefits and no children. Blanket refusals of applicants because they receive benefits, or because children would live with them, are prohibited, in adverts, in agent instructions and in practice. Coded wording, professionals only, suits working couple, is treated as what it is. Landlords can still decline any individual applicant on genuine affordability or referencing grounds; what they cannot do is operate a category ban.
Selecting lawfully
Fixed criteria, applied to everyone: affordability calculated the same way for salary and benefits income, references assessed identically, decisions recorded with reasons. That file is both fair process and the complete defence: discrimination claims fail against documented, consistent criteria and succeed against vibes. The advertising end of the same rules is in the viewings guide.
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Start my agreement →Frequently asked questions
Can a landlord refuse tenants on Universal Credit?
Not as a category. Blanket benefits bans are prohibited; individual applications can only be declined on genuine, consistently applied affordability or referencing grounds.
Can a landlord refuse a family with children?
No, blanket refusals of families are banned. Legitimate occupancy limits, such as HMO room standards, are about numbers and space, not the existence of children.