Tenants win compensation after landlord discriminates on housing assistance ground

Legal rights group FLAC has welcomed a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ruling that three tenants had been discriminated against by their landlord when the landlord refused to facilitate their access to the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

The Equal Status Acts were expanded from January 2016 to prohibit discrimination in the provision of accommodation based on a person’s eligibility for housing assistance, including rent allowance, HAP, or any social welfare payment.

To date, there had been no determination by the WRC as to whether the new ground extended protection to existing tenants who become entitled to social housing support during the course of their tenancy.

Three similar cases were brought against the same landlord to the WRC and heard together. The landlord contended that it was not obliged to accept HAP as the new law did not apply to existing tenants. FLAC acted for all three complainants, identified as Tenant A, B and C.

The cases were heard together in March and it was contended on behalf of the tenants that the protection under equality legislation extended from the pre-tenancy phase through to the ultimate termination of the tenancy, and that the legislation would be ineffective if it did not protect sitting tenants.

The WRC decision clarifies that the protection from discrimination extends to not only prospective tenants but also sitting tenants.

In her decision, the Adjudication Officer said it was difficult to understand the landlord’s attitude towards tenants who had always paid rent and honoured the terms of their tenancy agreements.

She stressed that the applicable law must be followed by all parties: “Overall and quite simply, the Equal Status Acts compels compliance by all those who may be subject to its provisions including landlords and their agents, just as they are bound by any other applicable Statute including the Residential Tenancies Acts and Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 and any Regulations made under same.”

The Adjudication Officer found that the discrimination was on the more serious end of the scale, causing considerable financial hardship to each of the tenants who were awarded the sums of €14,977, €13,365 and €14,405 each, and ordered the landlord to take such steps as are required to enable each tenant to participate in the HAP scheme and accept HAP payments from the relevant local authority forthwith.

Eilis Barry, chief executive of FLAC, said: “This decision by the WRC is very significant as it clarifies not only that landlords cannot reject prospective tenants eligible for the housing assistance payment solely on that basis, but also that the new housing assistance equality ground also applies to existing tenancies.”

Sinead Lucey, FLAC’s managing solicitor, added: “The awards made in these three cases are significant and should send a strong message to landlords that to refuse to facilitate tenants with access to social housing supports including rent allowance and HAP, may have serious consequences.”