Right to Equal Treatment: Disability Discrimination in Housing

Purchase or Rental of Premises

Under the DDA, discrimination in the sale, letting, assignment, sub-letting or management of premises is unlawful. The definition of premises extends to land, business and residential properties. The behaviour prohibited is:

refusing to dispose of premises to you; or
offering the premises on less favourable terms to you; or
the less favourable treatment of you in relation to any list of persons in need of premises of that description.

Discrimination against you is also prohibited:

in the way in which you are permitted to make use of any benefits or facilities;
by refusing to allow you the use of such benefits or facilities; or
by evicting you or subjecting you to a detriment.

The provisions for the justification of the less favourable treatment outlined above are very similar to those permitted in relation to the general provision of goods, facilities and services. Private sale and small dwellings are excluded from these provisions.

Improvements to Let Dwellings

The DDA, as amended by the 2005 Act, contains a new Part 5B which will assist certain tenants in England and Wales to make improvements to their dwelling house unless it is reasonable for a landlord to withhold consent to these improvements.

This Part applies to all leases of residential property other than:

Protected tenancies;
Statutory tenancies;
Secure tenancies

It applies where:

a disabled person is the tenant or lawful occupier or prospective occupier of the premises;
the premises are or are intended to be their only or principal home;
the tenant is entitled under the lease (which includes a sub-lease or other tenancy) to make improvements to the premises with the consent of the landlord
the tenant applies to the landlord to make a ‘relevant improvement’; and
the lease does not already provide for similar rights.

Where the above factors apply and this Part of the DDA is operative, if a landlord unreasonably withholds consent to the making of relevant improvements the consent is nevertheless deemed to have been given.

An ‘improvement’ means any alteration in, or an addition to, the premises and includes:

any addition to or alteration in a landlord’s fittings and fixtures;
any addition or alteration connected with the provision of services to the premises;
the erection of wireless or television aerial; and
the carrying out of external decoration.

An improvement to premises is a relevant improvement if, having regard to the disability which the disabled person concerned has, it is likely to make it easier for the disabled person to enjoy the premises.

Whether the withholding of consent is ‘unreasonable’ will depend upon all the circumstances of the particular case. However, the relevant DRC code of practice states that ‘when considering the question of ȁc;reasonablenessȁd; in relation to relevant improvements, landlords should give due weight in particular to the needs of the disabled person for whom the improvement has been requested. This should be balanced against any other factors to be taken into account.ȁd;

The amended DDA does not set out any factors which might be taken into account in determining whether or not it is unreasonable to withhold consent. Guidance can be found from the factors laid down in The Housing Acts to be taken into account when determining whether or not it is unreasonable to withhold consent to an improvement. These are:

the extent to which the improvement would make the dwelling house less safe for occupiers;
the extent to which the improvement would cause the landlord to incur expenditure which he would otherwise be unlikely to incur; and
the extent to which the improvement would reduce the price of the dwelling house if sold or the rent to be obtained.

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