Rental discrimination: a guide for landlords
If someone who gets benefits wants to rent your property
You cannot discourage someone from entering a tenancy agreement because they get benefits.
This includes if:
- your tenancy agreement, mortgage or a superior lease says that tenants cannot get benefits
- a tenant starts getting benefits at any point after they move in
You cannot do things that exclude people who claim benefits. For example, if you check if a tenant can afford the property, you must include income from benefits in the same way as other income.
The tenant may get benefits such as:
- Universal Credit
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Legacy Housing Benefit
- State Pension or Pension Credit
- Council Tax Support
- Tax Credits (Child and Working)
- Child Benefit
- Guardian’s Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
Example
A landlord refuses to rent a house to someone because they get help with housing costs through Universal Credit. The landlord says their mortgage does not allow them to rent to people who receive housing benefits. The person reports this to the local council, saying it’s discrimination.
The council agrees that it is discrimination and the landlord is issued with a fine. The rules about rental discrimination mean that any part of a mortgage that bans renting to people on benefits does not count and cannot be enforced.
Example
A landlord does not want to rent to someone who gets benefits, so they ask a referencing company to check if the tenant can afford the rent. The company ignores the tenant’s benefit income when doing the check, so the tenant is rejected for not earning enough. The tenant reports this to the local council as discrimination.
Although landlords can say no to tenants who genuinely cannot afford the rent, the council says it is discrimination. The landlord is issued with a fine because the tenant’s benefit income was not treated the same as other income.
Exceptions
There is no exception that can stop people who get benefits from renting a property due to landlords trying to meet a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’ (PMLA).
If your insurance contract stops people who get benefits living at the property
You can only do this if your insurance contract both:
- says that people who get benefits are not allowed to live there
- started before 1 May 2026
Once the insurance contract ends or renews, this exception no longer applies. A tenant can ask to see the contract.