It might be against the law if someone treats you unfairly or differently because of who you are, such as being disabled or being a woman. If it is, you can complain or take them to court.
The main law that covers discrimination in housing is the Equality Act 2010 – Part 4 is about housing. It covers you when you’re looking for a place to live or living somewhere.
If you’re being evicted, you might also be able to use your discrimination rights to help defend the eviction in court.
Discrimination has a specific meaning in the law – not all problems will be against the law, but there are still things you can do to solve them.
There are a few steps to follow before you decide what action you can take. The steps will help you apply the law to your situation – they don’t include examples of every kind of discrimination problem.
The first step is to check if you’re protected by the Equality Act 2010.
Not every housing situation is covered by Part 4 of the Equality Act 2010.
There are different rules for:
- public functions, for example housing allocations from local councils – find out if you can take action about discrimination in public functions
- service providers, for example hotels and holiday homes – find out if you can take action about discrimination by a service provider
- housing provided by your university – find out if you can take action about discrimination in education
If you’re not sure if your housing situation is covered by Part 4 of the Equality Act 2010, you can check the rules in section 32(2) and (4).
If the person treating you unfairly or their relative also lives in the home
If it’s race discrimination, it doesn’t matter who else is living in the home or accommodation – you’ll still be covered by discrimination law.
If it’s any other type of discrimination you won’t be covered if your home or the home you’re hoping to rent or buy counts as ‘small premises’ under the Equality Act 2010. This exception applies if you share it with the person discriminating against you or their relative. This person is called a ‘resident’ in the Equality Act 2010.
For example, if you’re a lodger and share a kitchen or a bathroom with your landlord’s daughter (the resident) you won’t be covered by the Equality Act 2010.
The small premises exception doesn’t apply if you only share storage areas and means of access.
A relative means the landlord’s or property owner’s:
- spouse or civil partner
- unmarried partner
- parent or grandparent
- child or grandchild (and the child or grandchild’s spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner)
- brother or sister
It also includes relatives ‘in law’ of the above people – for example the daughter-in-law of your landlord would count as a relative.
The home counts as small premises if:
- there are at least two households living there – yours and the resident’s household
- it can’t accommodate more than three households in total
It also counts as small premises if it can’t accommodate more than 6 other people (apart from the resident’s household).
These rules are called the ‘small premises exception’ and are covered in Schedule 5, paragraph 3 of the Equality Act 2010.
If someone is stopping you from buying or renting a home
If someone stops you because of your race it’s always against the law.
If someone stops you for another reason, it won’t be against the law if both:
- the person selling or renting the home owns it and lives there – this is called being an ‘owner occupier’
- they haven’t listed the property with an estate agent or put adverts up in public places
These rules are called the ‘owner occupier (private disposal) exception’ and are covered in Schedule 5, paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you’ve seen an advert for a home that discriminates against someone, you can report it to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. For example, you might see an online advert that says only women can rent a flat.
Check why you’re being treated unfairly
The law says you can’t be treated unfairly or differently if it’s connected to who you are, like being a woman or being disabled. This is called having a ‘protected characteristic’ in the Equality Act 2010.
You also can’t be treated unfairly because:
- you challenged discrimination before
- of someone else’s protected characteristic
- someone thinks you have a protected characteristic, but you don’t
It might not be obvious how the unfair treatment is linked to a protected characteristic. For example, your landlord might not want to rent to you if you’re a single parent. This could be discrimination against women because they’re more likely to be single parents.
The protected characteristics in Part 4 of the Equality Act 2010 are:
Disability
You’re covered for a disability you have now and any you’ve now recovered from. A disability could be physical or mental – you could be covered even if you don’t consider yourself disabled.
You should check if your disability is covered by the Equality Act 2010.
Disability is defined in section 6 of the Equality Act 2010.
Gender reassignment
The law covers ‘gender reassignment’ – this means if you’re transgender.
You’re covered if you:
- are planning to transition – you don’t need to have had any medical treatment
- are in the process of transitioning
- have already transitioned
If you identify as non-binary but you aren’t transitioning, you might be covered but the law is complicated. You’ll need to get specialist advice before you go any further.
Gender reassignment is defined in section 7 of the Equality Act 2010.
Pregnancy and maternity
You’re covered by the law if you’re pregnant.
You’re also covered in the 26 weeks after you give birth, including stillbirths. This is called the ‘protected period’.
If it’s more than 26 weeks after you gave birth, you might still be able to claim sex discrimination.
Pregnancy and maternity is defined in section 17 of the Equality Act 2010.
Race
This includes your:
- colour – for example if you’re black or white
- nationality
- ethnic origin – for example if you’re a Romany Gypsy
- national origin – this could be different from your nationality, for example if your family is from India but you have a British passport
Race is defined in section 9 of the Equality Act 2010.
Religion or belief
This includes:
- belonging to an organised religion, for example if you’re Jewish
- having a religious belief, for example you need to pray at certain times
- having no religion, such as being an atheist
- your philosophical beliefs, like being a pacifist
Religion or belief is defined in section 10 of the Equality Act 2010.
Sex
This is whether you’re a man or a woman.
If you identify as non-binary but you aren’t transitioning, you might be covered but the law is complicated. You’ll need to get specialist advice before you go any further.
Sex is defined in section 11 of the Equality Act 2010.
Sexual orientation
You’re covered if you’re gay, a lesbian, straight or bisexual. It includes how you choose to express your sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation is defined in section 12 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you’ve been harassed
You can’t take action for harassment under Part 4 of the Equality Act 2010 if you were harassed because of your:
-
sexual orientation
-
religion or belief
If you’ve been harassed because of pregnancy and maternity, you can’t take action under harassment law but you might be able to argue that you’ve been harassed because of your sex (because you’re female).
If your problem is about more than one protected characteristic
You can take action about more than one, or choose the ones you think you have the best evidence for.
If you take action about a combination of protected characteristics, you’ll have to make your case for each one separately. For example, if you’re being discriminated against because you’re a black woman you’d have to list race discrimination and sex discrimination separately in your claim.
If your problem isn’t to do with your own protected characteristic
It could still be discrimination if you’re treated unfairly because:
- of someone else’s protected characteristic
- someone thinks you’ve got a protected characteristic, but you don’t
You won’t be protected by Part 4 of the Equality Act if the discrimination is about:
- age
- marriage or civil partnership
If you’re treated unfairly because you complained about discrimination before
It could still be discrimination even if the unfair treatment isn’t about your protected characteristic. If you challenged or helped someone else challenge discrimination before it could be a type of discrimination called ‘victimisation’.
Next steps
If the Equality Act 2010 doesn’t cover your situation you might still be able to complain about your private landlord.
If you think you’re covered by the Equality Act 2010 you can move on to step 2.
The Equality Act 2010 says you can take action against companies or people who discriminate against you when they:
- sell or rent out a home, such as renting a property through a letting agent – this is called ‘disposal of premises’ in the law
- need to agree to sell or rent out a home, such as a joint owner – this is called ‘permission for disposal of premises’ in the law
- manage a home, such as landlords, agents and people collecting rent – this is called ‘management of premises’ in the law
An estate agent may be acting on behalf of a landlord so if an estate agent has discriminated against you might be able to take action against both of them.
Who you can take action against is covered by sections 33 to 35 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you’ve asked for changes to help with your disability
You can take action against most people who look after a property – called ‘controllers of premises’ in the law.
Controllers of premises might be:
- landlords
- property managers
If your building is owned by a commonhold association, you can also take action against them.
Who you can take action against is covered by section 36 of the Equality Act 2010.
If your problem is with any of these people you can find out whether their actions are against discrimination law in step 3.
If someone else has treated you unfairly or differently
You might be able to take action against service providers if you’ve been treated unfairly or differently by someone else who deals with your home, for example:
- surveyors and valuers
- solicitors
- mortgage lenders
If you’re being treated badly by other tenants or neighbours
You can complain about your neighbour.
It could be against discrimination law if someone treats you unfairly or differently. It has to be because of a protected characteristic or because you challenged discrimination before.
Someone might treat you unfairly by:
- stopping you from renting or buying a home, charging you more or offering you a worse contract
- trying to evict you
- stopping you from using facilities such as a communal garden, or making it harder for you to use them
- giving you a worse service or refusing to help you, for example taking longer to respond to your request for repairs
It might not be discrimination if the person is treating you unfairly or differently for a reason that isn’t connected to a protected characteristic. For example, you might pay more rent than your neighbour because your flat is slightly bigger, not because of your race.
Check what type of discrimination it is
It’s important to work out what type of discrimination you’re facing so you can decide what action to take and get the right evidence.
You’ll need to check which of the 6 types matches your problem – it could be more than one. It’s worth checking – having more to mention if you complain or take legal action could help you.
You might be able to take action about these 6 types of discrimination:
- indirect discrimination
- direct discrimination
- harassment
- failure to make reasonable adjustments
- discrimination arising from a disability
- victimisation
If a rule applies to everyone but has a worse effect on you – indirect discrimination
If someone has a policy, rule, criteria or way of doing things that applies to everyone but puts you and people with your protected characteristic at a ‘particular disadvantage’ compared with others, it’s called indirect discrimination.
For example, it might be indirect discrimination if:
- your landlord has a rule that says pets aren’t allowed but you need a guide dog
- you’re not allowed to leave anything in the hallways of your flat, but you need to park your mobility scooter in your hall
- a landlord will only let you view their property on Saturdays but you can’t because it’s against your religion
The person discriminating against you might be able to justify it – you’ll have to check before you take any action.
Indirect discrimination can be difficult to spot because it’s not targeted at you. A rule might seem fair because it applies to everyone. But it could be indirect discrimination if it affects people with a protected characteristic more.
To prove indirect discrimination you’ll need to show:
- there was actually a rule or way of doing things (called a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ in the law)
- the provision, criterion or practice puts you at a particular disadvantage compared to others without your protected characteristic
- it also puts or would put other people with your protected characteristic at the same disadvantage
Showing there was a rule or way of doing things
The rule or way of doing things doesn’t have to be written down anywhere for it to be indirect discrimination. It also doesn’t matter if you agreed to the rule by signing a contract or tenancy agreement.
A rule or way of doing things could be:
- a term in your tenancy agreement that says tenants have to pay their rent in person at the landlord’s office
- your property manager having a policy that all maintenance requests have to be in writing
- your landlord always doing inspections on a Saturday
The rule or way of doing things has to either :
-
actually apply to people with and without your protected characteristic
-
be something that could apply to people with and without your protected characteristic .
The rule or way of doing things might only affect people with your protected characteristic – for example, if everyone living in your building is a woman. You’ll need to show that it could apply to other people in theory – for example, if a man moved in to the building the rule or way of doing things would apply to them too.
Example
Annie uses a motorised mobility scooter. She parks it in her hallway because she doesn’t want to leave it outside in case it’s stolen. Annie’s tenancy agreement says ‘Tenants are not allowed to leave any items in the hallways, corridors or in any other place that could block the fire escape route’.
Annie’s landlord spotted the scooter when he did an inspection. He wrote to her asking her to move it and said she’s breaking her tenancy agreement. He warned her she’s blocking the escape route so he might have to evict her.
The term in Annie’s tenancy agreement is a ‘provision, criterion or practice’. It also applies to other tenants who have the same landlord as Annie. It affects Annie worse than other tenants. It also affects or would affect any other disabled people living in the building with mobility aids worse than other tenants.
Annie could complain that this is indirect discrimination against her.
Annie’s landlord might try to justify their actions if they think they have a good reason for it.
Showing how you and people with your protected characteristic are affected
You might have to give evidence of the particular disadvantage to you, if it’s not obvious. For example, if you need to do something for religious reasons you might need to show evidence that it’s important in your religion.
You’ll also have to show how other people with your protected characteristic are or would be affected.
You can show the impact by looking at the number of people with your protected characteristic who are affected. For example, you might be able to show there are 5 people in your block of flats with your religion, and 4 of them also have problems with the same term of the tenancy.
If there’s no-one who’s actually affected in the same way, you can try to show the impact it would have on other people with your protected characteristic.
Think about whether they can justify the discrimination
It won’t be against the law if the person discriminating can show they have a good enough reason for it.
To have a good reason, they have to be able to show that applying the provision, criterion or practice is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. There are 2 parts to showing this.
Firstly, they have to show the aim is legitimate. A legitimate aim could be:
- the health and safety of other people
- making sure their business can run properly
- making sure neighbours aren’t disturbed too much
Secondly, their behaviour has to be proportionate – this means they can’t discriminate any more than they need to. If there are better and fairer ways of doing things, it will be more difficult to justify discrimination.
Your argument will be stronger if you can think of a way of meeting the legitimate aim that discriminates against you less.
If you’re not sure whether the behaviour is proportionate you should think about:
- how many people with your protected characteristic would be affected – a high number makes it harder to justify
- how badly people are affected – for example, evicting someone will be harder to justify than causing them a small inconvenience
If you’re not sure if the discrimination is justified, get help from an adviser.
Example
Rebecca’s landlord says that tenants aren’t allowed to burn candles at home. Rebecca has argued that this is indirect discrimination because she lights candles as part of her religion.
The landlord says it’s not discrimination because they have a duty to keep the residents of the building safe from fire.
Rebecca tells the landlord she doesn’t think banning candles is proportionate – she could keep a fire extinguisher at home and agree not to leave the room when the candles are burning.
If Rebecca and the landlord can’t agree Rebecca could think about taking court action. The court would decide if the discrimination can be justified.
Indirect discrimination is covered in section 19 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you were treated worse than someone else – direct discrimination
If someone treats you worse than others because of a protected characteristic it’s called direct discrimination. The legal term for being treated worse is being treated ‘less favourably’.
For example, you might:
- not be allowed to rent a property when someone else is
- be evicted for damaging something when someone else wasn’t
If you’re being treated unfairly because of someone else’s protected characteristic
You might be discriminated against because of someone you’re associated with. For example, you could be treated unfairly because your partner is a particular race. This is called ‘direct discrimination by association’.
If someone thinks you’ve got a protected characteristic, but you don’t
You might be treated unfairly because someone thinks you have a protected characteristic – even if you haven’t. For example someone might treat you unfairly if they think you’re gay, but you’re actually straight – this is called ‘direct discrimination by perception’.
Showing you were treated less favourably
You’ll need to show you were treated less favourably than someone else who doesn’t have your protected characteristic.
You might know that someone was in the exact same position as you but you were treated less favourably. The law calls this person an ‘actual comparator’.
You might not need a comparator if the discrimination is obvious – for example if a letting agent says they won’t help a same-sex couple because they ‘disagree with their lifestyle’.
Example
Ibrahim rents a room in a large house. There are 4 other tenants in the house.
The radiator in Ibrahim’s room stopped working. Ibrahim reported it lots of times but the landlord didn’t respond to his messages. The landlord eventually sent a plumber out to fix it after 8 weeks.
When one of the other tenants reported a broken radiator in their room last year the landlord sent someone out straight away to fix it.
Ibrahim thinks the reason it took longer to deal with his issue might be because he’s a Muslim – he’s heard the landlord making comments about him to the other tenants.
Because the other tenants aren’t Muslim and they’ve also made the same maintenance requests, Ibrahim could use them as actual comparators. If Ibrahim’s landlord is treating him less favourably because he’s a Muslim, it would be direct discrimination because of religion or belief.
If you can’t find anybody who’s been in the same situation, you’ll need to imagine somebody without your protected characteristic in the same situation. The law calls this person a ‘hypothetical comparator’.
You’ll need to show the way you were treated was less favourable than the way they would have been treated. You could do this by using a real example where someone’s been in a different but similar situation.
Example
John accidentally damaged a door in his house. When the landlord found out he said he wasn’t looking after the property and sent him an eviction notice.
John is black and he thinks this might be the real reason the landlord is trying to evict him. He wants to find a comparator to help prove it.
John’s neighbour Karl also rents from the same landlord. Karl is white.
Karl also once broke his tenancy agreement when he couldn’t pay his rent for 2 months. When that happened the landlord just told Karl he could pay him back later – he didn’t send him an eviction notice.
However, Karl’s situation was different to John’s. Both John and Karl broke their tenancy agreements but their situations were different.
There’s nobody that’s been in the exact same situation as John so he has to use a hypothetical comparator. He can say what happened to Karl suggests a hypothetical comparator in his circumstances wouldn’t have been evicted.
Think about the reason you were treated less favourably
You’ll have to think about whether the person treated you less favourably because of the protected characteristic. This is called ‘causation’ in the law.
The person discriminating against you might say they have another reason for how they treated you apart from your protected characteristic. For example, they might not let you rent a home because you can’t show you can afford it.
If you take action against them in court, you’ll have to show why you think your protected characteristic was the reason you were treated that way. You might have evidence to show this, for example you might show other people with your protected characteristic were treated the same way.
If the court accepts your evidence that there might have been discrimination, the other side will need to prove that the way they treated you wasn’t because of the protected characteristic. The rules on this are in section 136 of the Equality Act 2010.
If someone is treating you less favourably for more than one reason, it’s still discrimination as long as your protected characteristic was one of the reasons. For example, your landlord might treat you less favourably partly because you’re gay and partly because you’re in rent arrears. This would still be discrimination.
It’s still discrimination if someone didn’t mean to treat you less favourably.
Example
Harper has a learning disability that her landlord knows about. Her landlord thinks they’ll make her life easier by saying she has to pay her rent by direct debit, instead of making her struggle to use her online banking each month.
Harper would rather pay online. If her landlord refuses to let her it could be direct discrimination, even though they think they’re helping.
Direct discrimination is covered in section 13 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you’re being harassed or bullied
It could be harassment if someone behaves in a way that:
- offends you
- makes you feel uncomfortable or distressed
- intimidates you
This could include things like:
- abusive comments or jokes
- insulting gestures or facial expressions
- offensive comments on social media
Once you’ve checked if any other types of discrimination apply to you, you can check if your problem is harassment.
Harassment is covered in section 26 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you’ve asked for changes to help with your disability (reasonable adjustments)
Your landlord, property manager or anyone else who is a ‘controller’ of the property has a duty to make certain changes to make it easier for you to live there. This is called the ‘duty to make reasonable adjustments’.
If your building is owned by a commonhold association, they also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments.
You can ask for changes before you move in or while you’re living there. If they refuse to make changes you need, it might count as a type of discrimination called failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Reasonable adjustments only cover certain changes to your home. They don’t include anything that would require your landlord to remove or change a physical feature, for example, removing walls, widening doorways or installing permanent ramps.
Check what reasonable adjustments you can ask for and who has to make them.
Reasonable adjustments are covered in sections 20, 21, 36 and Schedules 4 and 5 Equality Act 2010.
If the discrimination is because of something connected to your disability
It could be discrimination arising from a disability. This is different to direct discrimination, where you’re being treated unfairly or differently because of your disability itself.
You don’t need to prove that you were treated worse than someone else. You just need to show you were treated unfavourably because of something connected to your disability. The law calls this being treated ‘unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of’ your disability.
It won’t be discrimination if they didn’t know about your disability.
It’s still discrimination if you’d reasonably expect them to know about your disability. For example, if you gave details on your tenancy application form about your disability, it’s reasonable to expect your landlord to know about it.
It’s also still discrimination if they knew you were disabled but didn’t know exactly how your disability affects you.
Example
Hayley lives in a flat. She has ADHD which means she often shouts and bangs doors.
Hayley’s neighbour complained and her landlord sent her an eviction notice because her tenancy says she’s not allowed to make unreasonable noise.
Hayley’s landlord knows about her ADHD. Hayley’s landlord isn’t trying to evict her because she’s disabled, but it’s because of the noise that was caused by her disability. The eviction might be discrimination arising from a disability.
There might be more than one reason for the problem – some that are connected to your disability and some that aren’t. If your disability was a factor, it can still be discrimination arising from a disability.
For example, your rent arrears might be because you have depression and an alcohol addiction. Your depression could be a disability, but alcohol addiction isn’t.
Think about whether they can justify the discrimination
If the person discriminating can show they have a good enough reason for it the discrimination arising from a disability won’t be against the law.
To have a good reason, they have to be able to show that the way you were treated is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. There are 2 parts to showing this.
Firstly, they have to show the aim is legitimate. A legitimate aim could be:
- the health and safety of other people
- making sure their business can run properly
- making sure neighbours aren’t disturbed too much
Secondly, their behaviour has to be proportionate – this means they can’t discriminate any more than they need to. If there are better and fairer ways of doing things, it will be more difficult to justify discrimination.
If your landlord hasn’t made changes you need for your disability
It might be a type of discrimination called ‘failure to make reasonable adjustments’.
If it is, they probably won’t be able to justify other types of discrimination against you. Check what reasonable adjustments your landlord has to make.
Your argument will be stronger if you can think of a way of meeting the legitimate aim that discriminates against you less.
Example
Hayley’s landlord is evicting her for noise nuisance.
The nuisance was caused by her ADHD, which is a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Her landlord might argue that evicting her is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. They need to make sure the other tenants in the block aren’t disturbed – this is the legitimate aim. The landlord says they have to evict Hayley to protect the other tenants.
Hayley’s landlord also has to show that evicting her is proportionate. Hayley could argue there are more proportionate ways the landlord could achieve their aim, for example installing sound-proofing or moving her to a different house where the sound will be less of a problem.
If Hayley and her landlord can’t agree on what to do, she could defend her eviction in court. The judge would make a final decision on whether the eviction was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
If you’re not sure if the discrimination is justified, get help from an adviser.
Discrimination arising from a disability is covered in section 15 of the Equality Act.
If you’re being treated unfairly because you challenged discrimination before – victimisation
It could be victimisation. Complaining about discrimination or helping someone else complain about discrimination are known in the law as ‘protected acts’.
A protected act could be:
- complaining to your landlord about discrimination
- giving evidence to support someone else’s discrimination complaint
- going to court to make a discrimination claim
It’s victimisation if someone treats you unfairly because you complained or helped someone else complain. The law calls this being ‘subjected to a detriment because you did a protected act’.
They also can’t treat you unfairly because they think you’ve complained, or might complain in future.
You’re not protected against victimisation if you:
- make false accusations or give false information and
- do so in bad faith
For example, if you deliberately exaggerated how badly you were harassed to get a higher compensation settlement, it wouldn’t be victimisation if you were treated unfairly because of that.
You would be protected if you made a complaint because you honestly believed it was discrimination but it turned out not to be.
Example
Johann helped his neighbour Paul by being a witness when Paul made a race discrimination claim against their landlord. Being a witness is a ‘protected act’ in the law.
Johann’s landlord has now given him an eviction notice. Johann thinks it’s because he helped Paul with his claim against their landlord.
This could be victimisation and could help Johann to defend his eviction in court. The judge would decide if it was victimisation or if there was another reason his landlord was trying to evict him, for example because Johann had rent arrears.
Victimisation is covered in section 27 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you’re discriminated against because of your pregnancy or maternity
You need to take action using section 17 of the Equality Act 2010.
You don’t need to prove you were treated worse than someone else to claim pregnancy and maternity discrimination – you just need to show you’ve been treated unfavourably.
Unfavourable treatment could be:
-
not allowing you to rent a home because you’re pregnant
-
charging you more rent because you’ve just given birth
-
asking you to pay an additional deposit because you’re pregnant
-
evicting you because you’ve been breastfeeding in the garden
If you’re not sure whether your landlord is treating you unfavourably you can get help from an adviser.
If you were treated unfairly before you were pregnant or more than 26 weeks after the birth
You won’t be able to take action using pregnancy and maternity as your protected characteristic. You might still be able to take action about indirect discrimination because of your sex, which is also a protected characteristic.
Deciding what to do about discrimination
There are different options depending on if you’re:
- being evicted – you’ll need to use discrimination law to challenge it
- being discriminated against in a different way – decide what action to take