Equal opportunities and discrimination in flatsharing

SpareRoom is firmly committed to equal opportunities. We monitor all ads to make sure they comply with UK housing and discrimination laws. This guide explains what landlords, agents, and flatmates need to know about discrimination in housing and room adverts.

Discrimination laws for landlords and agents

If you are a landlord or letting agent, it is illegal to discriminate against someone you are renting to (whether a room or a whole property) on the basis of any of the following protected characteristics, according to the Equality Act 2010:

• Sex or gender
• Race or ethnicity
• Disability (including mobility aids such as guide dogs)
• Religion or beliefs
• Sexual orientation
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy or maternity

These rules apply to all non-resident landlords and agents. Simply put, you cannot refuse tenants, exclude applicants, or use wording in adverts that discriminates on any of these grounds.

Important: Age is not currently a protected characteristic in UK housing law.

Avoiding discrimination in adverts written by flatmates and people with lodgers

If you live in the property you're advertising a room for then the law is slightly more flexible. You're allowed to have a preference on your new flatmate, but still not when it comes to race.

When stating a preference:

• You must explain it clearly and respectfully.
• You cannot use exclusionary wording.

Examples:

• Acceptable: “Female preferred as other housemates are female.”
• Not acceptable: “No men allowed.”


• Acceptable: “This is a Halal household, so we'd prefer a Muslim housemate.”
• Not acceptable: “Muslims only.”

SpareRoom takes action on adverts that do not follow this guidance.

Mentioning housing benefit (LHA) in SpareRoom adverts

There are restrictions on how you refer to housing benefit (Local Housing Allowance - LHA) in your SpareRoom adverts. The rules are slightly different depending on whether you live in the property or not.

See more information here:

Housing benefit and lodgers (if you rent out a room in your home)

Housing benefit and tenants (for regular, non-resident landlords)

Guide dogs and assistance animals

Guide dogs and assistance animals are considered mobility aids, not pets. This means:

• A “no pets” policy cannot be used to exclude someone with a guide dog.
• Refusing someone because they use a guide dog is equivalent to refusing someone who uses a wheelchair.

However, if your property accommodates fewer than seven people, the law may treat disability discrimination differently under the small premises exception. See here for more details.

SpareRoom's discrimination policy

SpareRoom's approach goes beyond the minimum legal requirements. It's not just a case of what is and isn't legal - it's about treating people as you'd want them to treat you.

• Adverts with unclear, discriminatory, or offensive wording will be removed.
• Advertisers are encouraged to state preferences positively and respectfully, rather than using restrictive language.