Government claim landlords still have a choice over who they rent to
3 weeks ago | 5 comments
Government vows Renters’ Rights Act will tackle rental discrimination
12:01 AM, 3rd August 2026, 2 days ago
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The government has claimed the Renters’ Rights Act cracks down on rental discrimination in the private rented sector.
In a parliamentary written answer, housing minister Matthew Pennycook claimed the act addresses overt discriminatory practices.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, it is illegal for landlords and letting agents to discriminate against prospective tenants who receive benefits or have children, with fines of up to £7,000 for those who break the rules.
Bear down on rental discrimination practices
Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi asked: “Whether the government has considered the potential merits of requiring (a) letting agents and (b) landlords to provide a reason to rental housing applicants for applications being unsuccessful to ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and Renters Rights Act”.
Mr Pennycook said: “The Renters’ Rights Act extends existing protections against discrimination in the lettings process under the Equality Act 2010 to those in receipt of benefits or with children.
“The act also provides local authorities with strong investigatory and enforcement powers to bear down on rental discrimination practices in the private rented sector.
“It addresses both overt discriminatory practices, such as ‘No DSS’ adverts, and situations where landlords or letting agents use other indirect practices in order to prevent someone entering into a tenancy.”
He adds: “My Department also encourages good practice across property agents. The Property Ombudsman already has a code of practice for letting agents which is mandatory for its members; and we will publish, later this year, a non-statutory code of practice setting out minimum best practice standards, and consider legislation to ensure compliance.
“Our new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, once established, will be able to publish guidance and codes of practice for landlords, which will further help to drive up standards across this sector.”
As previously reported by Property118, the government has hinted that the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Ombudsman could take into account previous cases of inadequate conduct by landlords.
Tags:
£7, £7000 fine landlords, Matthew Pennycook, PRS Ombudsman, rental discrimination, Renters’ Rights Act
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Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 2299
1:21 PM, 4th August 2026, About 2 hours ago
Reply to the comment left by DPT at 13:05
The difficulty here is this bit about the statement…a copy of the notes you took…. because the council might well ask for these and also the tenant might ask for this as part of a subject access request: So be very careful over what you record when considering potential tenants. It may be easier just to record that other tenants more easily satisfied the credit requirements. However, when considering the benefits applicant you DO need to take account of their potential benefits payments and so you need last two years of tax return or SA302 showing income from ALL sources, including benefits. This will include such things as state pension, working families tax credit, child tax credit and ALL other benefits. But whether the council requests it or not you are NOT obliged to provide any details that you have collected on the successful applicants and not only are you not obliged to provide these details, you would be breaching data protection law if you were to do it. The last two or three months of salary or wages slips is not enough these days and especially in this post Rachel Reeves economic climate. The tenant could easily have lost his or her job three months after you hand the keys over because of the Rachel Reeves jobs taxes.
It is best not take any notes if you do not have to or at least take the minimum of notes.
Member Since April 2018 - Comments: 522
2:34 PM, 4th August 2026, About 40 minutes ago
Reply to the comment left by DPT at 04/08/2026 – 13:05
As someone said earlier you ask all prospective tenants to complete exactly the same application form (and sign it), so if they lie you have something to show in court, but at the end of the day you accept the tenant that suits YOU and YOUR property the best and it may not be just the income they receive. The only problem i see is if you use a letting agent they may want to charge you more to deal with a long list of your requirements now needed because of this dreadful Act.I agree with the above that rent guarantee might be necessary and all applicants will have to comply with those conditions. How we are going to recoup all these add-ons plus extra 2% tax, landlord and ombudsman registration fees though is beyond me.