The Equality Act came into force in October 2010, bringing several previous pieces of legislation addressing discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, sexual orientation and disability under one overall legislative framework.
The Act also prohibited discrimination on several new grounds too, giving legal grounds for complaint on 9 protected characteristics:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
As the Act approaches its’ 15th year on the books, the equalities landscape has changed markedly, and ensuring that businesses and organisations, including private landlords and letting agents are adhering to the principles, and being seen to do so, both from a moral and reputational perspective, is more important than ever.
What the Equality Act Means for Private Landlords and Letting Agents
Whilst private landlords and letting agents may not be subject to the public sector equality duty that their counterparts in social housing are, looking at all business practices and policies from an equalities perspective will help to ensure that they do not risk both reputational damage, which in the age of social media can gain traction incredibly fast, and legal challenges in the Sheriff Court which can prove costly to defend, and run the risk of liability for damages that could be up to £5,000 under Simple Procedure (small claims) or over £5,000 under Ordinary Cause.
For private landlords, awareness of the principles of the Act and familiarity with how they can unintentionally infringe on equalities rights is essential, especially when a significant share of the equalities claims are for indirect discrimination, where a policy or practice may not on the face of it seem to discriminate as it applies to all, but may actually disproportionately affect a certain group in practice.
An example of this being the “No DSS” policy of one private landlord that was challenged in a court in England, the court finding that this blanket rule disproportionately affected women and those with disabilities as they were more likely the recipients of such benefits.[1]
For letting agents, accessible and comprehensive equalities policies that guide business practices can also help to avoid falling foul of the law. Equality Impact Assessments may not be required, but they are good practice and help organisations ensure that their equalities policy is woven through all policies, by considering the impact of the policy on any protected groups.
Updating letting agent qualification to give equalities more prominence than it currently has and providing suitable equalities updates and refreshers for the sector would also help to ensure that the topic is given sufficient importance in the learning pathway of housing professionals.
In terms of the path ahead for the Act, in 2023 a campaign to have menopause added as a 10th protected characteristic gained some momentum, but it was later confirmed by the government that it would not be amending the legislation.
However, it would be foolish to think that at some point perhaps not too far off, that this list may be expanded with other characteristics, which some have argued should include regional origin or socio-economic status (often thought of as class discrimination), caregiving responsibilities, gender identity, veteran status and physical appearance.[2]
Being alert to these issues now, whilst they may not have protected status will help organisations to take a truly holistic approach to embedding equalities practices.
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53391516
[2] https://didlaw.com/should-there-be-an-expanded-list-of-protected-characteristics-in-the-equality-act
