Since the Renters’ Rights Act came into force, I’ve noticed a growing misconception among landlords and letting agents.
Many are becoming nervous about rejecting applicants because they are worried about falling foul of discrimination rules.
Questions I’m hearing include:
• Do I have to accept enquiries from applicants with pets?
• Do I need to provide a Pet Application Form to every applicant who mentions they have a pet?
• Am I required to conduct viewings for all applicants receiving benefits?
• Do I have to consider every family that enquires?
The short answer to all of these questions is:
No.
The Renters’ Rights Act has introduced important new protections for tenants, but it has not removed a landlord’s ability to make sensible decisions about who is suitable for a property.
Pets: The right to request is not the right to move in with a pet
One of the biggest misunderstandings relates to pets.
The legislation gives tenants the right to request permission to keep a pet.
It does not give prospective tenants the automatic right to rent a property with a pet.
Landlords can still choose not to accept applicants with pets and can even continue to advertise properties as “No Pets” if that’s relevant (eg, the head lease stipulates no pets permitted in the property), as it’s not consudered discrimination.
However, once a tenant moves into the property, they have the legal right to submit a formal pet request, which must then be considered properly and reasonably.
These are two completely different situations.
Benefits and affordability
Another area causing confusion is applicants who receive benefits.
The legislation does not require landlords to ignore affordability concerns.
If an applicant’s income does not reasonably support the rent, they can still be declined.
For example, if an applicant has a monthly income of £2,000 and wishes to rent a property at £1,700 per month, affordability is clearly a legitimate concern regardless of where that income comes from.
The reason for the decision is affordability, not benefit status.
Families and overcrowding
The same principle applies to families.
Landlords cannot unlawfully discriminate against families with children.
However, landlords are still expected to comply with occupancy limits, overcrowding legislation, licence conditions and local authority requirements.
If accepting an application would create overcrowding or breach legal restrictions, that remains a valid reason for declining the application.
The key principle
The Renters’ Rights Act does not require landlords to accept every applicant.
What it does require is that decisions are based on legitimate, objective and property-related factors.
Affordability.
Suitability.
Occupancy limits.
Property characteristics.
Animal welfare.
These are all valid considerations.
Our view
Good landlords have always assessed applicants fairly.
The Renters’ Rights Act doesn’t change that.
The law is designed to prevent unfair discrimination, not prevent landlords from exercising professional judgement.
As with many aspects of the new legislation, the key is understanding where the boundaries actually sit — rather than making decisions based on fear of getting it wrong.