Shocking levels of discrimination complaints about estate agents revealed
TPO says nearly a fifth of the complaints it handled last year were customers who said their estate agent had discriminated against them.
Some 17% of all complaints against estate agents last year handled by The Property Ombudsman were related to discrimination against customers, it has been revealed.
TPO says the two clauses within its Code of Conduct relating to discrimination were involved in 881 complaints against estate agents during 2019.
These two clauses relate to discrimination based on someone’s race, religion/beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, gender recognition, disability, pregnancy/maternity, nationality, age, infirmity, lack of knowledge, lack of linguistic or numeracy ability, economic circumstances, bereavement or English language skills.
TPO says unlawful discrimination includes giving someone less favourable treatment because they are perceived to have one of these personal characteristics or because they are associated with a person with such a characteristic.
Benefits
The shocking figures have been released by TPO following the recent victories – in separate cases – for two tenants who had been denied the chance to rent a property by a letting agent because they were in receipt of benefits.
“Whilst rental properties are investments for landlords, they are homes for tenants,” says Property Ombudsman Katrine Sporle.
“To be excluded from a significant portion of the homes available simply because you are in receipt of Housing Benefits cannot be considered as treating consumers equally.
“Tenants’ perceptions that they have been unfairly discriminated against underpin the significant number of the complaints received. TPO agrees that adverts which discriminate against would-be tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit should end.
“Ensuring no one is excluded from applying for the home of their choice will go some way to reducing these complaints.”
Read more about discrimination.
Read the TPO Codes of Conduct.
You can ‘badge’ No DSS up any which way you like, if a prospective Tenant can’t afford the rent – they ain’t going to be given ‘Credit’ at the Landlord’s risk.
Its fine and dandy for the likes of Shelter or the Govt, or even its quango TPO, to spout about discrimination – when none of these bodies (or anyone else for that matter) is prepared to ‘stump up’ as standing as Guarantor for what is inevitably a Govt restricted benefit system that Shelter itself acknowledges as not being generous to cover the market rent in 95 % of the country.
Yet still, Shelter who bring claims against Agents, Landlords, (settling out of court, so far) or the Govt, can see the cause-effect.
Isn’t that as close to the definition of insanity as you can get?