REDP: Does Equality Act change landlords' obligations to disabled tenants?

Regional Equality & Diversity Partnership

Does Equality Act change landlords' obligations to disabled tenants?

Date: 10/9/2011
Summary: A case heard in Manchester earlier this year could have significant repercussions for the way the housing sector addresses equality law, it has been suggested.

The case concerned a disabled tenant who asked his social landlord to make "reasonable adjustments" to his home by redecorating it, claiming he could not do it himself or enjoy the premises until it was done, says lawyer Stephen Evans, writing in the Guardian.

His claim was eventually dismissed, but under the Equality Act 2010 it may have come to a different outcome, as the Act states that a landlord must take reasonable steps to avoid putting tenants at a disadvantage.

"Our tenant could rely on the new provisions in the Equality Act to attack the very terms of his tenancy, which require him to decorate: the new act also requires a landlord to adjust any discriminatory 'criterion, practice or provision'," explained Mr Evans.

It follows statistics from the Tribunal Service which revealed that the average award for disability discrimination claims is lower than the average age discrimination claim.

Source-EFD

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