I see lots of ads saying “will suit a person with annual income of at least XX” on RMove. Is it also discriminatory because it discriminates against people on lower income or those whose benefits are lower than this amount (most of them)?
I can see that whatever you say, it will inevitably discriminate against somebody. Not sure what to do about it. We currently have a thread here where somebody feels discriminated against as a single person. Single person is not a protected characteristic, and still…
I haven’t looked at the specifics so I’m speaking out of ignorance here, but surely there’s such a thing as affordability. Hence credit checks etc. I’m not running a charity, and I wouldn’t accept a tenant who obviously would not be able to afford the monthly rent.
There must surely be some precedence for affordability and selection in the eyes of the law.
Also if you had 10 applicants and selected one, how would anyone know what drove the selection criteria?
If I do advertise in future I’ll definitely take heed of your advice to make the advert compliant with law, but it’s only superficial. It won’t stop landlords acting in a discriminatory way to some degree to ensure they get a good tenant who will pay rent reliably and not cause problems.
I think if a particular T takes you to court for discrimination and explain their reasoning, you have to present your case to disprove the claim. Such claim is not impossible, especially with people who have access to legal aid and can give it a try with no financial liability if the case is lost.
I agree with you that a case could be made for indirect discrimination out of almost anything, and at some point in the future, it may. The reason I comment on Raj10’s example is that I believe a case has already been brought for this exact situation, so there is an essy precedent for a tenant to use.