New anti-discrimination laws

What you need to know

• Discrimination based on benefits or family status is banned.

• Landlords must treat all applicants fairly and equally.

• Advertising and selection processes must be inclusive and transparent.

• Non-compliance could lead to legal action or reputational damage.

What’s changing?

While existing equality laws already prohibit discrimination based on protected characteristics such as race, gender, disability, or religion, the Renters’ Rights Act goes further by addressing indirect and systemic discrimination in rental practices.

Key changes include

• Outlawing blanket bans on renting to families with children or people receiving benefits.
• Strengthening enforcement of anti-discrimination laws in the rental market.
• Improving transparency in how tenants are selected.

No more “No DSS” Policies

The Renters' Rights Act formal prohibition of so-called No DSS policies—where landlords or agents refuse to consider tenants on housing benefits. This ensures that all applicants are assessed on their individual merits, not their source of income.

This will be enforced by

• Making it explicitly illegal to discriminate against benefit recipients.
• Allowing affected tenants to seek redress through the courts or ombudsman.
• Landlords can still refuse a tenant on the basis of  affordability, but not on the basis that the prospective tenant is in receipt of benefits.

Children and families

The Act also addresses discrimination against families with children, a group often excluded from rental opportunities.

Landlords will no longer be able to

• Impose blanket bans on children.
• Use tenancy clauses that indirectly exclude families.
• A landlord can no longer be compelled to discriminate by their mortgage or superior landlord agreement.
• A landlord can still deem a property unsuitable if the family size presents an overcrowding issue.

Enforcement of anti-discrimination laws

The Renters’ Rights Act introduces new enforcement powers to ensure landlords and agents comply with anti-discrimination measures. These rules are designed to protect prospective tenants and ensure fair access to housing.

The new rules mean

• Local councils will be able to issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 for breaches of the new anti-discrimination rules.

• Multiple penalties may be issued for continued or repeat breaches by landlords or letting agents.

• Those penalised will have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

• Tenants and prospective tenants can pursue breaches through their local council, the courts, the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman or existing letting agent redress schemes.

What landlords need to do

Both landlords and letting agents can be held accountable for discriminatory behaviours and should ensure all practices are compliant.

To comply with the new rules

• Review advertising and application processes to ensure they are inclusive.
• Avoid language that could be seen as discriminatory (e.g. “professionals only”).
• Make decisions based on affordability and references, not assumptions about a tenant’s background.