Can Private Landlords Refuse To Let To Housing Benefit Claimants?

It is not unusual for private landlords to advertise properties to let stating that they will not accept applications from Housing Benefit claimants. This raises the question of whether such restrictions amount to unlawful discrimination. In fact private landlords are free to refuse to let to Housing Benefit claimants, just as they are free to refuse to let to applicants who are not in receipt of benefit but who have a poor credit history.  Historically, landlords were reluctant to let to HB claimants because of delays in processing HB applications, but since April 2008 a key factor influencing landlords has been the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance and the requirement that this, except in certain specified circumstances, is paid to claimants rather than landlords. This note considers evidence on why landlords might refuse to let to HB claimants and the extent of the problem. Download this Commons Library Standard Note from the Parliament website.