© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
All landlords should be aware that there are new rules under the new Disabilities Discrimination Act 2005 which could affect them when they are letting their property to the disabled.
The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act had placed a duty on landlords and managers of properties not to treat disabled people less favourably than prospective able-bodied tenants. The 1995 Act did not, however, require landlords to allow any adjustments to the property in respect of the needs of the disabled tenant or occupier, nor did it require the landlord to take account of the particular needs of the disabled tenant with respect to his enjoyment of the property. The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (DDA) changes this situation. It applies to all forms of rental property: commercial, social housing and the private rented sector.
The 2005 Act has extended the meaning of disability to include a number of illnesses which were not previously included. When renting out a property landlords must now take account ofthe potential special needs of those with multiple sclerosis, HIV and mental illness.
The Act establishes a duty on the landlord or their agent to take reasonable steps to alter a policy, practice or procedure which makes it unreasonably difficult or impossible for a disabled person to take a letting, enjoy the premises or use a benefit or facility conferred with the lease.
The landlord will also be under a duty to provide an auxiliary aid or service to enable a disabled person to have full enjoyment of the premises or to take a letting. Landlords will only have to comply with this if the aid or service is necessary in connection with the tenancy. They will not have to pick up
the bill for aids such as wheelchairs or other assistance which the person would need for enjoyment of all aspects of day-today life.
What this means, in practice, is that the landlord must be flexible in respect of the disabled tenant. If, for example, the tenant has mobility problems and the designated place to leave rubbish at the property is difficult for them to access, the landlord should allow them to leave their rubbish in a more convenient place.
This also means that the landlord may need to adjust their normal practice when drawing up the contract. For example, if a tenant is blind, the landlord could provide a contract in Braille or on cassette. The NLA recommends that if a taped contract is provided it should be recorded by a third party, preferably a legal adviser, so that there is no danger at a later stage of a tenant making unprovable allegations about the landlord withholding information on tape.
Under the legislation, the landlord will not be required to make alterations to the physical features of the property. They may have to rearrange furniture, if asked, or provide a portable ramp for a wheelchair. Yet the landlord will not be required undertake any sort of adaptation which requires large-scale changes to the fabric of the property. The exact nature of what amounts to a physical feature has been the subject of consultation and the outcome is still unclear.
A disabled tenant must have the right to make alterations to the property for their needs with the landlord's consent. Any leases that do not allow the tenant the right to apply to make alterations with consent will have to be rewritten. This will apply as much to head leases in leasehold property as to shorter term rental leases.
The landlord does not have to consent to the tenant's request. However, the Act makes it clear that there is a duty not to withhold consent unreasonably. This reinforces the Landlord and Tenant Act which applies normally.
If the tenant refuses to accept a reasonable refusal to make alterations and goes ahead without permission the landlord will be able to deem this a breach of the tenancy agreement and the landlord is entitled to take appropriate measures.
Where the tenant claims that consent has been unreasonably withheld to alterations they wish to make, it will be the landlord's responsibility to show that this is not the case.
Consideration will have to be given to the size of the landlord's portfolio:
requirements on a small landlord with one property should not be the same as a local authority with estates to look after. In any legal conflict the courts will have to consider what is reasonable in the context of rented properties - not any wider sense of the term.
A difficult question which has to be resolved is that relating to putting right the work at the end of the tenancy. The landlord might want to add a condition that the tenant can only make the alterations if they pay to reinstate the original structure at the end of the tenancy. But since disabled people are often on low incomes this could be considered an unreasonable barrier to the work being carried out. The DRC guidance, when it is published, should assist with such decisions.
During debates on the Bill there were calls from many MPs and peers for the disability discrimination duties to extend to communal areas of flats and converted houses. Where the rental property is leasehold, such a duty would, of course, apply to the head lease as well as any sublease.
So that the Bill could be passed before Parliament was prerogued for the general election, this complex issue was deferred to be dealt with through secondary legislation. There is currently a working party which has been set up to examine the extent of the landlord's duty to allow alterations to communal areas. It includes a range of relevant government departments and we await the result of the discussions.
There are still important aspects of the legislation affecting the rented sector which need to be ironed out through regulations and guidance. The first provisions of the Act will come into force in December 2005 followed by more in 2006.