Landlord and tenant specialist Tessa Shepperson had confirmed that it is legal for letting agents and landlords to deliberately say no to prospective tenants who are working on unreliable zero hour contracts.
Shepperson, on her Landlord Law website, says that landlords are of course subject to the widely-understood anti-discrimination laws regarding gender and sexual orientation, religion, race and disability.
However a landlord must be able to have some freedom over who he accepts as a tenant. And the employment status of the tenant is a key issue she says.
Shepperson says that because it is from their salary that most tenants will pay their rent, the security or any other issue surrounding the salary is central to the decision-making process of a landlord or letting agent.
It is pretty dangerous to take in a tenant whose employment contract does not guarantee him any income as you [the landlord] could end up seriously out of pocket. Particularly when you bear in mind that it takes up to six months or more to evict a tenant (for example for non payment of rent) and during all that time the landlord will still have to pay his expenses on the property she says.
Last week Letting Agent Today carried a report of clashing opinions over whether it is right for agents and landlords to effectively discriminate against zero hours tenants.
Shepperson says she personally understands why there is a debate about the morality of this but feels the problem - if it is one - should be solved through employers and not through landlords.
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Comments
There is massive Tax Payer Resources that go into Social Housing, if the Government is unable to help the needy and poor we need a change in government, it is not the private Landlords job to help the needy and poor, except to pay a fair amount of tax to make sure everyone is fed, clothed and has a roof over their heads. Non profit 'private' housing Companies should also start to make a difference to the market in helping to give better rates to working people.
As a landlord you should have a right to put whoever you like in your property.
Simple solution (not just for housing) - abolish zero hour 'contracts', or at the very least stop using them in the employment stats.
Why did anything need clarifying
The only discrimination which is illegal is where there is Statute specifically making such discrimination an offence - criminal at that.
So in housing that is sex, race (including religion) and disability as per the Equalities act.
In housing it is not (yet) illegal to discriminate against LHA, student or on age
I welcome the clarification from Tessa Shepperson but this is just stating the obvious really. Landlords and Agents simply MUST be able to assess the risk involved in housing any tenant based on their potential employment income.