Unlawful Discrimination
There are legal obligations on landlords, both in public and private sectors, as service providers and employers, to take reasonable steps to ensure that people are not discriminated against directly or indirectly due to their “protected characteristics” like race, colour, gender or disability. The specific legislation is the Equalities Act 2010.
Direct discrimination is treating a person less favourably than another based on race, gender, disability, etc. In some cases, discrimination may occur where there has been a failure to comply with a statutory duty. Concerning disability, it should be noted that the statutory definition has been widened to include those with certain long-term medical conditions.
Indirect discrimination consists of applying a requirement or condition that, although applied equally to persons, whether male or female, black or white, is such that a considerably smaller proportion of a particular racial or gender group can comply with it than others, and it cannot be shown to be 'justifiable'.
Regarding issues about disability, a similar requirement exists that landlords do not impose criteria that could be identified as ‘unreasonable’.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission published a code of practice on racial equality in housing. The code is essential because it is a statutory code which Parliament has approved. This means the courts will consider the code’s recommendations in legal cases. The code has two main parts; the first explains what landlords need to know about discrimination, and the second makes recommendations about how landlords can avoid discrimination.
To learn more about discrimination and guidance on avoiding discrimination, go to www.equalityhumanrights.com.
The landlord should note that tenants should not be chosen based on race, religion, marital status, disability or sexuality. If the landlord discriminates against any tenant on these grounds, the landlord could be prosecuted. If the landlord is letting rooms in the landlord’s home, the landlord may specify the sex of prospective tenants. Age discrimination is prohibited in employment but is allowed in housing. In some cases, housing might have to be let to those over 55 to comply with planning requirements.
No DSS adverts
Several cases have found unlawful landlords or agents who operate blanket "no DSS" policies or advertise their properties as "no DSS" or similar.
See, for example, this report and another here.