Pinsent Masons senior associate Dev Desai, who specialises in landlord-tenant litigation, was commenting after a BBC undercover investigation found 10 London letting agents willing to discriminate against African-Caribbeans.
Secret cameras recorded letting agents saying they would tell African-Caribbeans the property was gone in order to please a discriminatory landlord.
Under the Equality Act 2010, Desai said landlords could be held responsible for the actions of their letting agents: “The legislation regulates someone who is disposing of property and it also regulates people managing properties, i.e. both landlords and their agents.”
He recommended landlords check their letting agent’s marketing material to make sure it did not discriminate against ‘protected characteristics’ such as race, gender or disability: “The crucial thing from their point of view is to show there isn’t an intention to discriminate.”
Landlords could be forced to compensate a prospective tenant for injured feelings, even if no money had changed hands, he added.
Under the Equality Act 2010, ‘protected characteristics’ include disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, sex discrimination, race, religion and belief, and sexual orientation.
However, when one black and one white BBC researcher made enquiries after an upmarket London flat, the letting agents only offered the white researcher a viewing.
Desai said cases of discrimination such as the one uncovered by the BBC were rare: “We really do not come across this in practice, so I am hoping these were rogue agents.”
The investigation comes the same week the Office of Fair Trading launched a consultation on draft guidance intended to help letting agents and landlords comply with the law.
The OFT’s draft guidance identifies trading practices that could breach legislation, such as not giving sufficient information to tenants about what fees they will have to pay, or making misleading statements about a property.
The Property Ombudsman has launched two investigations into racism in the last three years, but neither has been upheld.
