Housing discrimination: A guide for landlords

There has never been a time like this when landlords need to be prioritising the prevention of housing discrimination. While the Equality Act 2010 has been a long-term source for the foundation of fair housing laws, the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is quickly becoming the standard for all landlords to follow. 

When it comes to renting your property, housing discrimination becomes a key focus at every stage of the process. This begins with the listing and continues all the way through to the deposit return. Failing to implement these standards in your rental property business can lead to financial penalties. 

Fair housing laws 

There are two pieces of legislation that you will need to comply with, and that will dictate how you treat your tenants as a landlord. Let’s take a closer look at this. 

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act has become the main focal point of UK anti-discrimination law, and it protects tenants from unfair treatment based on nine protected characteristics: 

• Disability (including mental health and hidden conditions)
• Race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic origin)
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Age (though this has specific nuances in housing)
• Marriage and civil partnership

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 

Key phase 1 measures under the Renters’ Rights Act will take effect from 1 May 2026. It is a new piece of legislation that fills any gaps related to renting out property that may have been missed in the Equality Act. As a landlord, you won’t be able to discriminate against tenants based on the following: 

• Families with children (you can’t have a ‘no children’ policy on your rental property listing). 
• Benefit claimants (‘No DSS’ or ‘No Universal Credit’ blanket bans are no longer allowed). 

Recognising housing discrimination

A part of implementing fair housing laws will include being able to identify housing discrimination. Housing discrimination can take several forms, including direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. 

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is the most obvious form of housing discrimination and takes place when you, as the landlord, treat your tenants less favourably based on a protected characteristic. An example of this can include refusing to show your rental property to a same sex couple, or a couple of a different race.  

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination can at times be accidental, but it is still equally illegal. This takes place in the form of you implementing a neutral rule for all tenants, even if the rule directly disadvantages a specific group. 

For example, requiring all tenant applications to be completed with a full UK passport for the Right to Rent checks. This will discriminate against people of certain nationalities who have the legal right to rent in the UK, but who do not have UK passports. 

Discrimination by association or perception

As a landlord, you aren’t able to discriminate against a potential tenant because they are associated with someone with a protected characteristic. 

The elimination of blanket bans in fair housing laws

One of the biggest changes in fair housing laws is the complete prohibition on blanket bans. Previously, landlords were able to justify ‘No DSS’ or ‘No Kids’ rules by citing mortgage or insurance restrictions, but as of 1 May 2026, these are legally void. 

• Mortgages and superior leases: this includes any terms in a mortgage or lease that forbid renting to families or those on benefits
• Insurance: Any insurance terms that exclude these groups are ineffective for new policies as of 1 May 2026. 

The ‘Legitimate Aim’ exception

There are extremely limited circumstances where the defence for not allowing children at rental properties will be accepted. This is known as a Proportionate Means of Achieving a Legitimate Aim (PMALA), and may apply if the property is genuinely too small (according to overcrowding laws), or if the property is specifically designed for retirement living. 

As a landlord, however, you will need to ensure that you have sufficient proof and evidence for this because local authorities will scrutinise these claims. 

Practical compliance to prevent housing discrimination 

To ensure that your rental property business aligns with fair housing laws, you should look at ensuring each of the following stages in the rental process is compliant: 

Stage 1: Advertising

Make sure that you avoid phrases like ‘Professionals only’ or ‘no pets’ unless you have a valid reason to refuse a pet. So, make sure you focus on the property’s features and the rent amount as the law requires you to publish a fixed asking price to prevent rental bidding wars. 

Stage 2: Tenant selection and referencing

During the tenant selection and referencing process, it is important to avoid the dismissal of a tenant the moment they mention they are on Universal Credit. Landlords should assess affordability using objective criteria and should not reject applicants simply because some or all of their income comes from benefits.

You are still within your rights to conduct affordability checks, however, they need to be objective. So, if a tenant’s total income covers the rent, the fact that they get their income from benefits should be irrelevant. 

Stage 3: Right to Rent Checks

Make sure that you apply the exact same document verification process to every single application. Also, ensure that you don’t favour digital eVisas over physical documents, vice versa. 

Stage 4: Tenancy management

Never avoid a request for reasonable adjustments, such as a grab rail for a tenant who is disabled, or allowing pets for a tenant with an assistance dog. You have a legal duty to consider these requests.  

What are the financial consequences of non-compliance with fair housing laws

Beyond fines, landlords may also be subject to Rent Repayment Orders (RROs), where a tribunal is able to order you to pay back up to 24 months’ worth of rent. 

How to protect your business using fair housing laws

The best way to protect your rental property against housing discrimination claims is to, first of all, ensure you remain compliant and to keep a robust paper trail. Here’s how: 

1. Standardise criteria: Make sure you use a set of tenant selection criteria for every property, for example, ‘Must provide 2 years’ worth of references’. 
2. Record decisions: Always keep a detailed log of why a tenant was rejected, for example, ‘failed the affordability check’. 
3. Audit your agent: Remember that you’re responsible for the letting agent, too. So, ensure that your contract with them explicitly states that they remain compliant with the Renters’ Rights Act. 

Housing discrimination is no longer a grey area, and with the reforms happening in 2026, the government has made it clear that the private rented sector should be an open market for any tenant who can afford to rent, no matter where their income comes from. 

Are you looking for landlord insurance to help protect your rental property? Be sure to get in touch with our team of specialists for a quote today on 01788 818 670, or you can visit our advice centre for more information on how to manage your rental property.