Can a landlord in England still refuse a tenant because they claim benefits or have children? No. Since 1 May 2026 it has been unlawful to do anything that makes someone less likely to rent your property for either reason, and a council only has to show it was more likely than not to fine you up to £7,000. You can still check that the rent is affordable, as long as you treat every pound of income the same.
The rules sit in sections 33 to 42 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, switched on by SI 2026/421, and apply to all assured and regulated tenancies in England, including ones that began before May. The government's rental discrimination guidance, published 6 May 2026, is the document councils will enforce from. Social and supported housing are outside it.
What counts as discrimination now?
Any step that makes a person less likely to rent because they receive benefits or have a child living with them or visiting. That reaches far beyond the words "No DSS" in an advert. The guidance and its worked examples point at:
- Adverts and listings that exclude claimants or families, in any wording.
- Refusing information or viewings to someone once they mention Universal Credit or children.
- Affordability tests that ignore or discount benefit income. The guidance names a referencing company that leaves out benefits as a breach.
- Guarantors demanded only of claimants. Asking every applicant for a guarantor is fine; asking only the ones on benefits is not.
- Different terms, such as a higher deposit or a shorter response window, for claimants or families.
Liability reaches anyone acting for you. The guidance says a landlord, or "anybody acting on their behalf", can be liable, "whether formally contracted or just a family member acting informally". An agent's screening rules are your problem too.
Can I still check whether a tenant can afford the rent?
Yes, and the Act says so expressly: section 41 confirms you can take income into account. What changed is that benefits must be given equal value with wages, pensions or any other income. You can apply an income multiple, but the same multiple, to the same total income, for everyone.
Here is the test in numbers. A two-bed flat is let at £1,100 a month, and the landlord's rule is annual income of at least 30 times the monthly rent, so £33,000.
| Applicant | Earnings | Benefit income | Counted income | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | £34,000 | £0 | £34,000 | Passes |
| B | £21,000 | £12,600 | £33,600 | Passes |
| B, if benefits are ignored | £21,000 | not counted | £21,000 | Fails, and that is a breach |
| B, under a 36x rule for claimants only | £21,000 | £12,600 | £33,600 vs £39,600 | Fails, and that is a breach |
Applicant B must be treated exactly as A. If a household genuinely cannot afford the rent on the same test, you can decline them; the Act does not make you let to someone who cannot pay. For a sense of what housing support pays locally, our LHA rates by postcode guide and the free LHA rent calculator show the Local Housing Allowance for each area.
Can I refuse families with children?
Only where a restriction is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. The guidance's examples of aims that can qualify are retirement housing, student accommodation and genuine safety constraints, such as an HMO whose licence conditions or shared facilities make it unsuitable for a child. Financial aims alone, such as expecting more wear and tear, do not qualify. The guidance gives a blanket refusal of a 16-year-old because of a staircase that posed minimal risk as an example of a breach.
There is no equivalent exception for benefits. You cannot justify turning away a claimant on any "legitimate aim" argument.
What about my mortgage, insurance or head lease?
They no longer let you off the hook, and for many leasehold landlords this is the biggest practical change.
| Contract term banning claimants or children | Status |
|---|---|
| Tenancy agreement | Of no effect (s.35) |
| Mortgage on a let property | Of no effect from 1 May 2026 (s.37) |
| Superior lease, such as the head lease on a flat | Cancelled from 1 May 2026 (s.36) |
| Landlord insurance | Existing policies keep the term until they end or renew, whichever is sooner; after that it has no effect (s.38) |
So the old defence, "my lender or my freeholder won't allow it", is gone. If your flat's head lease contains a no-benefits covenant, it is now void as against letting to a claimant. Check your landlord insurance renewal date: once the policy renews, any clause excluding claimants or families has no effect.
How much is the fine, and why is it easier to prove?
The maximum civil penalty is £7,000, and the nationally set starting point councils work from is £6,000. If the breach continues more than 28 days after a penalty, the council can impose another, and a repeat within five years can add a further penalty. It is not a criminal offence in England, and it does not trigger a rent repayment order.
The detail most coverage misses is the standard of proof. Almost every other Renters' Rights Act penalty requires the council to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt. Discrimination, along with rental bidding, only needs the civil standard: the balance of probabilities, meaning the council must think it more likely than not. A screenshot of an advert, a text message saying "sorry, no UC" or a referencing rule that drops benefit income will often be enough.
A worked example. A landlord with three flats uses an agent whose listing template still says "Professionals only, no DSS" on all three. A council fines the landlord £6,000. The listing is not changed for five weeks after the penalty, so a second penalty of up to £7,000 follows. That is up to £13,000 for wording that took a minute to delete. The full list of starting points, and how councils adjust them, is in our landlord fines table.
Does the Equality Act still apply?
Yes, alongside it. The new rules protect benefits status and children, which the Equality Act does not directly cover. Separate complaints about race, disability, sex, age or other protected characteristics still run under the Equality Act 2010, and some conduct can breach both.
Does the ban apply in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Wales and Scotland have their own versions in the same Act, with a key difference: they are criminal offences, not civil penalties.
- Wales. Chapter 4 of the Act applies from 1 June 2026, making discrimination against contract-holders with children or on benefits an offence. Occupation contracts also gained two new fundamental terms, and landlords had until 14 June 2026 to give existing contract-holders an updated written statement or variation notice.
- Scotland. Chapter 5 applies to private tenancies from 1 May 2026. The Scottish Government's rental discrimination guidance, published 16 March 2026, explains the rules; the Act makes a breach a criminal offence, with a fine on conviction.
- Northern Ireland is not covered by these provisions.
What to change this week
- Rewrite every advert and template, including your agent's, to remove anything that screens out claimants or families.
- Put your affordability rule in writing and apply it to total income from all sources.
- Ask for guarantors on a rule, not a hunch. Same trigger for everyone, such as income below the multiple.
- Log your insurance renewal date and read the new policy wording when it arrives.
- Keep a record of why you declined an applicant. With a civil standard of proof, a dated note of a genuine affordability or referencing reason is your best defence.
These rules came in alongside the rest of the 1 May changes, which our Renters' Rights Act timeline sets out, and next to the rental bidding ban, the other Renters' Rights Act rule enforced on the civil standard, which is covered in our guide to rent in advance and bidding.
This is general information as at September 2026, not legal, tax or financial advice. Take advice on your own lettings process if you are unsure whether a restriction is lawful.
