Can I refuse to accept tenants with children in my rented property?

The general rule is that landlords can accept who they like as tenants so long as they do not breach the discrimination rules.

Under these rules (described in more detail in our article on lawful and unlawful discrimination) there are various ‘protected characteristics’ including age, sex and being pregnant or on maternity leave, which the legislation protects.

So when you are selecting a tenant for your property, you must not refuse to accept an applicant because they fall into one of these protected categories.

The Property Ombudsman Case

Being a parent with children is not in itself a protected characteristic (although being pregnant or on maternity leave is). 

However, in a recent decision by the Property Ombudsman, the Ombudsman found that a ‘no children’ ban would breach equality rules under its code of practice, as it would disproportionately affect women.

This case involved a nurse with four children who was forced to register as homeless as no landlords or agents would rent to her.

Note that this is not a court decision, and so will not bind Judges if a claim is brought for compensation for unlawful discrimination.

However, it does mean that letting agents who are a member of the Property Ombudsman property redress scheme will be found to be in breach of their code of conduct (which all members must abide by) if they do this. 

Meaning that an official complaint to the Ombudsman would probably succeed (if they can prove their application was rejected for this reason), and they could be awarded compensation.

It is also likely that in any court claim, the Judge could take judicial note of the Ombudsman’s decision when considering the case.

What you should do

To protect yourself from this type of claim, you should never mention bans on families with children in your advertising and never specifically say to applicants that they are being rejected because they have children.

Unless perhaps the property is obviously unsuitable for children.  But even then, I suggest you be careful what you say.

If you give a reason for not accepting them for a property, always cite some other reason, such as the fact that you prefer a different applicant (if several people apply for the property) or that you are worried about their ability to pay.

Make sure also that if you have any internal notes about the application and your reason for rejecting it, you don’t specifically say that it is due to their children.