This will come as welcome news to tenants in Ireland.
Irish landlords have been warned that is discriminatory to refuse tenants from renting a property if they are in receipt of rent supplement, housing assistance payments or other forms of welfare payments.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) delivered a reminder to landlords that they are prohibited from discriminating against tenants in receipt of such payments after “housing assistance” was introduced as a new discriminatory ground in the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 as of January 1 this year.
Tenants who believe they are being discriminated against can take their case to the Workplace Relations Commission, where a maximum of €15,000 can be awarded if a complaint is upheld.
The use of phrases such as ‘rent supplement not accepted’ and ‘professionals only’ have been cited by IHREC as examples of discrimination on the housing assistance ground.
It is not discriminatory, however, for a landlord to refuse to let a property solely on the grounds that the tenant cannot afford the appropriate market rent.
For more details, check out the IHREC statement in full here.
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