Tenants on benefits still facing rental discrimination – claim

A tenants’ group claims landlords and letting agents are still rejecting tenants who receive benefits, despite the practice being made illegal under the Renters’ Rights Act.

A story in The Big Issue revealed that a letting agent agreed to help exclude people receiving benefits during an undercover investigation by ACORN in Leeds.

An activist posed as a first-time landlord and called the agency to ask whether they could rule out benefit claimants when looking for tenants.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said discrimination against people receiving benefits was unacceptable, but pointed out that landlords should not be criticised for carrying out checks to establish whether prospective tenants can afford the rent.

Received an apology

In a recording of the call, the letting agency, which was not named in the article, said they could “filter out the dross” when discussing prospective tenants receiving benefits.

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.

ACORN said it secured an apology from the letting agency after activists entered its premises and refused to leave, and the person working for the letting agency was fired.

Usman Akhtar, chair of ACORN Leeds community union, said that despite the undercover operation taking place several months ago, discrimination against tenants receiving benefits remained an ongoing concern.

He told The Big Issue: “Landlords just dodge the law in any way they can. They’ll just say they’ve not selected an application and that’s that.”

Nye Jones of Generation Rent said to The Big Issue: “You’d previously see mass things like ‘no DSS’, and tenants completely barred from renting if they were claiming housing benefits. That’s now illegal. But for some landlords, it’s the default setting.”

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.

Shortage of affordable properties

However, the NRLA said the shortage of affordable rental properties for people receiving benefits was also contributing to the problem, pointing to the government’s decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.

Chris Norris, the NRLA’s Chief Policy Officer, told The Big Issue: “Landlords can, and should, check that a tenant can afford the rent, and make an informed judgement about their likelihood of being able to sustain a tenancy long-term, but those checks must apply equally to everyone, irrespective of an applicant’s source of income.

“Unfortunately, the fact that successive governments have frozen local housing allowance rates means that, according to homelessness charity Crisis, just 1.9% of private rented homes are now affordable to people in receipt of housing benefit. It is therefore no wonder that many are struggling more than ever to access quality rented homes,”

“If the government is serious about tackling the housing crisis, it must unfreeze housing benefit from next April, so that it covers at least the cheapest 30% of rents in every area.”

As previously reported by Property118, the government claims the Renters’ Rights Act addresses overt discriminatory practices used by landlords and letting agents.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the act gives councils strong enforcement powers to tackle rental discrimination.