Disability Discrimination Act and Property Lettings

The law applying to disability discrimination applies to landlords. Since December 4th 2006 landlords have had to be aware of their legal duties regarding disabled people who may need their homes to be altered or have some form of assistance to live in the homes that they are renting.

Adapting Your Property

Although there are certain obligations on a landlord to make adaptations, the measures that you may need to take don’t include removing or altering what’s defined as a physical feature of the property. A physical feature could be:

• any feature that forms part of the way that the property is designed or constructed
• any feature that’s part of the approach to, exit from or access to the property
• any fixtures in or on the property.

Things that you would not have to do, for example, include moving a drying area or a communal entrance for a block of flats. If a tenant asks to make adaptations, they have to make a request in writing, and any request must be ‘reasonable’. It’s also not necessarily up to the landlord to foot the bill for any alterations to a property that need to be carried out.

If a disabled person asks for you for a specific improvement, and you have to make this adjustment, you could get help from many different sources. It’s possible to get grants – or small supplies such as portable ramps, from your local social services department. If social services won’t fund the adjustment then, you may have to pay for it yourself, or come to an agreement with the tenant about the cost.

Auxiliary Aids

If you rent your property to a disabled tenant, you have a duty to provide them with what’s called ‘auxiliary aids and services’ to make it easier for them to live in the property. These only need to be provided if without them it would difficult or impossible for the tenant to enjoy full use of the property. Some things that a landlord could reasonably be expected to do are:

• making changes to furniture and furnishings in the property
• replacing or providing signs
• replacing taps or door handles that are difficult for a disabled person to use
• adapting door bells or door entry systems

Ways of Discriminating Against Disabled Tenants

There are several ways that a tenant or potential tenant can claim that you have discriminated against them, so be aware of this when taking on or considering a disabled tenant.

You can’t refuse to let the property to someone who is disabled. Even if you don’t think the property is suitable for them, you still can’t use that as a reason to refuse then a tenancy.

You must not refuse to allow a disabled tenant the use of any communal facilities on the grounds of their disability, refuse to carry out repairs or renovations, or give them less favourable treatment in any way.

Changing The Terms of a Lease

In some cases, there may be terms in a standard tenancy agreement which make it difficult for a disabled person to live in the property. One example of this could be a ban on pets in the property, which would mean that a tenant who has, or develops, sight problems could be unable to have a sight assistance dog. In this case, it would be unreasonable to insist on this term of the tenancy agreement, and most landlords would simply waive it to allow a guide dog.