Letting Factsheets Factsheet 25 - The Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 & 2005
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The Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 & 2005(The Disability Discrimination (Services & Premises) Regulations 1996)
Commencement:The Regulations came into force on 2nd December 1996 but the 2005 Act will not come into force until early 2006.
Scope:This 1995 Act gives new rights to people who have disabilities and includes provisions for disability discrimination with regard to the letting or selling of property. Under these regulations it is unlawful for anybody involved in letting or selling property, (including letting and estate agents, landlords, councils and housing associations) to discriminate against disabled people. There are also provisions under the Act that affect employment, so that employers may not discriminate against disabled people (see section entitled 'Duties of Employers' below). The Regulations require that a disabled person is treated in the same way as anyone else with regard to the letting or buying of property. An agent cannot, for instance, charge a disabled person a higher rent for a room than other tenants and cannot refuse to rent a property to somebody simply because they are disabled. There are certain circumstances when it may be justified to treat a person with a disability differently. These situations are dealt with later under 'Exclusions and Indemnity'. A landlord or agent must not discriminate by:
It is also unlawful to knowingly help another person to discriminate against disabled people. A letting agent cannot refuse a tenancy to or discriminate in any other way against a disabled person even if the landlord of the property requests him to do so. There is no exemption for small firms from the above provisions relating to the selling, letting and management of property.
Definition:The Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. People who have a disability, and people who have had a disability, but no longer have one, are covered by the Act.
Exclusions and Indemnity:The Regulations recognise that there are occasions when it may be justifiable to treat a disabled person differently from another person, and make a number of exclusions: 1) HEALTH AND SAFETY. There may be health or safety reasons for refusing to let to a disabled person. A disabled person may be denied access to a facility if that access prevents others from using it - this could include a shared kitchen or shared laundry facilities. It is within the law, for example, to refuse to let a third-floor flat to a disabled person living alone who is clearly unable to safely negotiate the stairs or use the fire escape or other escape route in an emergency. However, fire regulations should not be used as an excuse to place unnecessary restrictions on disabled people. 2) MENTAL IMPAIRMENT. It may also be justifiable to refuse to rent or sell to a disabled person who suffers from a mental impairment and is not capable of entering into a legally enforceable agreement, unless that person is represented by an attorney or a person similarly acting on his behalf. 3) ALTERATIONS. Agents and landlords do not have to make alterations to their properties in order to make them more accessible to disabled people. If, however, a business occupies rented premises they may ask permission from the landlord to make the property more accessible to disabled people. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold consent for alterations for this purpose. 4) ROOMS IN HOTELS AND GUEST HOUSES. Rooms that are let in hotels or guest houses are exempt from these regulations. 5) EXEMPTIONS FOR SMALL DWELLINGS. There are certain exceptions for small dwellings. A person is exempt from the measures that apply to selling, letting and managing premises if they, or a near relative, live on the premises and share accommodation with others who are not members of their household. However, for this to apply, the premises must be small. This means that only the person and their household live in the accommodation and there is accommodation let on a separate tenancy, or similar agreement, for normally no more that two other households. Alternatively, the exemption may apply to resident landlords who let out rooms in their home to six or less people. 6) DUE DILIGENCE: If a person can show that they have taken reasonable steps to prevent their representatives from acting unlawfully, that person will not be considered as having broken the law. Their representatives would.
Duties of Employers:Employers similarly, are not permitted (under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) to discriminate against disabled people. It is unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to treat a disabled person less favourably than other people, for a reason related to their disability, without justification. As a result of a review, the small employers' exemption, which was originally set at 20 employees, has now been restricted to businesses employing fewer than 15 employees with effect from 1 December 1998.
Penalties and Enforcement:If a disabled person is discriminated against with respect to the selling, letting and management of property, he may seek recompense through the County Court. He is entitled to seek damages to help to recover losses or to compensate for injury to his feelings. In Scotland he can take action by going to the Sheriff court. There is a limitation period of six months beginning from the time of the action which led to the complaint. Claims for unlawful discrimination in employment are dealt with by Employment Tribunals.
Disability Discrimination Act 2005: .It became law on 7th April 2005 as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. The vast majority of the Act's provisions will come into force at a date to be determined by the Minister responsible. This date has yet to be announced but it is expected to be in late 2005 or 2006. The Act will make major changes to the existing law, affecting amongst others, landlords and managers of rented premises. In particular, landlords or managers of rented premises will come under a duty to take "all reasonable steps" to provide auxiliary aids or services to enable a disabled person to occupy the rented premises or to modify any practices or policies which make it unreasonably difficult for a disabled person to occupy the rented premises. This does not, however, extend to being required to remove or alter any physical features. There are also changes to the definition of disability. A mental illness will no longer have to be a "clinically well recognised" one to qualify; and people with cancer, HIV or MS will be deemed to be "disabled", even before the onset of symptoms affecting normal day to day activities. The Disability Rights Commission provides a guide to the requirements of the legislation entitled "What it means to you - a guide for service providers" which can be downloaded from their website: www.drc-gb.org .
Sources for Further Information:
This summary is intended to assist landlords and letting agents to understand the effect of the Regulations. It is not an authoritative interpretation - this is a matter for the courts. For more detail, you should refer to the text of the Regulations themselves. |
