More than 80% of OpenRent properties listed in Cheshire East have “no DSS” bans, a BBC investigation has found.
This is despite a judge ruling in July that blanket bans on renting properties to people on housing benefit were unlawful and discriminatory.
The judge ruled so-called “no DSS” rental bans were against equality laws after ruling in a county court case.
A BBC Data Unit probe analysed more than 9,000 rental listings on the website OpenRent across the UK and found 76% preferred not to rent to people on benefits.
In Cheshire East, it was 81%.
Of the 75 properties listed, only 14 accepted people claiming benefits.
Almost twice as many properties said they would accept pets, and smokers.
The charity Shelter say landlords discriminating against tenants because they claim benefits is “outdated, grossly unfair and illegal under the Equalities Act”.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “No DSS’ discrimination is outdated, grossly unfair – and it’s unlawful under the Equality Act, as our recent landmark legal victory confirms.
“This is because it overwhelmingly prevents women and disabled people, who are more likely to need support paying their rent, from finding a safe home.
“Last month’s ruling should be a wake-up call for landlords and letting agents to clean up their act and treat all renters equally.
“We won’t stop fighting DSS discrimination until it’s banished for good.
“OpenRent should ban landlords from advertising their properties as ‘DSS not accepted’ – and remind them of their legal duty not to discriminate.
“Otherwise, they are putting themselves and their landlords at risk of serious legal action.”
A spokesperson for the Equality and Human Right Commission, said: “These figures show there is still some way to go before we can truly end the discrimination against women and disabled people who claim benefits.
“The recent ruling will go a long way to ensure all renters’ rights are equal, regardless of their life situation or background.
“If landlords and estate agents don’t change their policies and practices, they will be at risk of claims of discrimination from would be tenants.”
Adam Hyslop, founder at OpenRent, said: “We want to be clear that we fully support Shelter’s efforts to eliminate blanket bans and are pleased that there now appears to be legal precedent around these.
“OpenRent does not ban any group of tenants, and in the past year we have let over 25,000 properties where applications from benefit claimants were explicitly welcomed by the landlord.
“This is more than any other agent in the UK. We also know that many local authorities’ housing teams actively refer claimants to OpenRent as a good place to find suitable properties.
“As such, to characterise us as somehow hostile to benefit claimants – or worse, lumping us in with agents who have a blanket ban on benefit claimants – is simply unfair and inaccurate.
“We know access to suitable properties for benefit claimants is a real and painful problem, and we want to solve the root causes of these issues.
“Our hope when we first discussed the topic with Shelter in 2018 was that they could use their considerable reach and voice in the media to work with us on these.
“Unfortunately their campaign, by focusing solely on wording in rental adverts, drags landlords who may currently have legal and financial blockers to being able to rent to certain tenants, into the same category as obviously unfair “blanket bans” like the one covered by the recent court ruling.
“Applicants should be made aware upfront of any conditions of renting a property. CMA guidance for letting agents also supports this approach.
“When applying for properties on OpenRent, tenants are always given the chance to explain their particular circumstances and suitability for a property – however currently a landlord might literally have a clause in their mortgage agreement that explicitly prohibits them from granting the tenancy.
“We’re committed to solving root causes like these, however in the meantime our customers are overwhelmingly telling us we should not be pretending the problem doesn’t exist.
“Hiding conditions of renting over which the landlord has no discretion only wastes time for all involved, and indeed makes the situation far worse for the very people Shelter is trying to help.”
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