A number of landlords across Gedling borough are trying to avoid renting their properties to benefit claimants, despite a judge recently ruling a blanket ban was unlawful.
Back In July it was ruled that blanket bans on renting properties to people on housing benefit were unlawful and discriminatory.
The judge in the case that ruled “No DSS” rental bans were against equality laws.
DSS is the initialism for the Department of Social Security, which was replaced in 2001 by the Department for Work and Pensions and is used as a shorthand reference to mean benefits claimants.
But new evidence shows that landlords across Gedling borough are flouting the ruling.
The BBC Shared Data Unit took a snapshot of rental listings on the website OpenRent, which allows landlords to say yes or no to “DSS income accepted”.
They found that of the rental listings in Gedling borough on the site on August 5, 76% said they did not accept DSS.
17 properties were listed and only four said they would take on DSS claimants.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said this type of discrimination was ‘grossly unfair’
She said: “No DSS’ discrimination is outdated and it’s unlawful under the Equality Act, as our recent landmark legal victory confirms.
“This is because it overwhelmingly prevents women and disabled people, who are more likely to need support paying their rent, from finding a safe home.
“Last month’s ruling should be a wake-up call for landlords and letting agents to clean up their act and treat all renters equally.
“We won’t stop fighting DSS discrimination until it’s banished for good.
“OpenRent should ban landlords from advertising their properties as ‘DSS not accepted’ – and remind them of their legal duty not to discriminate. Otherwise, they are putting themselves and their landlords at risk of serious legal action.”
