Rental discrimination: a guide for tenants
If you get benefits
You cannot be discouraged or stopped from renting a property because you get benefits.
This includes if:
- the tenancy agreement says you cannot get benefits
- the landlord’s mortgage or a superior lease says you cannot get benefits
- you start getting benefits at any point after you move in
Landlords cannot do things that exclude people who claim benefits. For example, if they check if you can afford the property, they must include income from benefits in the same way as other income.
You 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. 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 receives 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.
Even though landlords can say no to tenants who genuinely cannot afford the rent, the council says it’s discrimination because the tenant’s benefit income wasn’t 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 landlord’s insurance contract stops people who get benefits renting the property
Your landlord can only do this if their 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. You can ask to see the contract.