Renting to tenants on benefits or with children: What the law now says

Since 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act has introduced specific protections for people renting, or looking to rent, who have children or receive benefits. It's an area where landlords can easily get caught out by an old policy, wording in an advert or a referencing process that has simply never been updated.

The basic principle is straightforward: landlords and agents cannot make someone less likely to obtain a tenancy simply because they have children or receive benefits. However, landlords can still carry out proper affordability and referencing checks and make legitimate decisions about who they let their property to.

Here's how the rules work in practice.

What the Law Now Says

The new rental discrimination rules apply to assured and regulated tenancies in England from 1 May 2026, including relevant tenancies that began before that date.

Landlords and anyone acting on their behalf must not prevent or discourage someone from enquiring about a property, accessing information, arranging a viewing or obtaining or continuing a tenancy because they receive benefits or would have a child under 18 living with or visiting them.

That means old blanket approaches such as "no DSS" or automatically refusing applicants simply because they have children should no longer form part of an ordinary lettings process.

The rules also cover policies that appear neutral but, in practice, make people who receive benefits or have children less likely to secure a tenancy. For example, insisting that every applicant must have a "professional job" or refusing to include benefit income when calculating affordability could create a problem because the criterion disadvantages particular applicants for reasons connected to their benefit status.

There is, however, an important distinction when it comes to children. In limited circumstances, a restriction relating to children can be lawful where it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This could potentially apply where there are genuine overcrowding, licensing, safeguarding or property-suitability considerations. It is therefore better to assess the actual circumstances than to apply a blanket policy.

There is no equivalent general exception allowing landlords to exclude people simply because they receive benefits.

Your Agent and Referencing Process Matter Too

The rules do not only apply to landlords personally. Letting agents, referencing services and other people acting on a landlord's behalf can also fall within the rental discrimination provisions.

This makes it important to understand how your agent or referencing provider assesses applicants. A landlord should not deliberately instruct an agent to exclude benefit claimants or families, nor rely on a process that knowingly treats those applicants differently.

The safest approach is to have clear criteria that are based on legitimate factors such as affordability and referencing and to make sure those criteria are applied consistently.

What Landlords Can Still Do

The law does not require landlords to accept an applicant who genuinely cannot afford the property or who fails reasonable referencing requirements.

Landlords can still carry out affordability assessments, obtain references and credit checks, consider adverse credit history or County Court Judgments and request a guarantor where there is a legitimate reason for doing so.

The crucial point is that these requirements should not become a disguised way of excluding people because they receive benefits or have children.

When assessing affordability, landlords should take account of all forms of income, including relevant benefits and pensions, and treat them equally when applying the same income requirement.

For example, if a landlord requires applicants to demonstrate income at a particular multiple of the rent, that same requirement can generally be applied to everybody. What the landlord should not do is ignore £1 of benefit income while treating £1 of salary as valid income simply because of where the money comes from.

An applicant can still be declined if, after all their income has been properly taken into account, they genuinely do not meet the landlord's reasonable affordability requirement.

What About Guarantors?

This is another area where landlords need to apply criteria consistently.

There may be perfectly legitimate situations where a guarantor is required following the outcome of an affordability or referencing assessment. What becomes problematic is requiring a guarantor automatically because someone receives benefits, particularly where an equivalent applicant earning their income through employment would not face the same requirement.

Government guidance specifically gives an example of a landlord requiring a guarantor in practice only from benefit recipients and treats that as discriminatory.

The better approach is therefore to establish when a guarantor will be required and apply that approach based on the applicant's financial and referencing position rather than their benefit status.

What About Deposits and Rent in Advance?

Landlords can still require a lawful tenancy deposit, subject to the existing statutory deposit limits, and can require rent in advance within the restrictions applying under the Renters' Rights Act.

These requirements should again be applied according to the tenancy and applicant's circumstances rather than imposing harsher terms simply because someone has children or receives benefits.

For most tenancies, the tenancy deposit cap remains five weeks' rent, rising to six weeks where the annual rent is £50,000 or more.

Mortgages, Leases and Insurance

Another significant change is that landlords can no longer generally rely on an old mortgage or superior lease clause as justification for discriminating against families or benefit recipients.

From 1 May 2026, discriminatory terms in mortgages and relevant superior leases are generally rendered ineffective under the new regime, subject to the limited statutory exceptions that can apply in particular circumstances.

Insurance has a transitional arrangement. Where an insurance contract entered into before 1 May 2026 contains a term restricting occupation by people with children or receiving benefits, that term can temporarily continue to be relevant. However, the exception ends when the insurance contract ends or is renewed.

For insurance policies entered into or renewed from 1 May 2026, clauses excluding families or benefit claimants cannot be relied upon to justify rental discrimination.

So if an old document says "no benefits" or "no children," landlords should not simply assume that this gives them a lawful reason to reject an applicant.

Are There Any Exceptions for Children?

Yes, but they are limited and should be considered carefully.

A restriction involving children may be permitted where it is a proportionate means of achieving a genuine legitimate aim. Government guidance gives examples involving issues such as overcrowding, particular HMO licensing conditions, genuine safeguarding concerns, retirement housing and some accommodation with shared facilities.

This is not permission to introduce a general "no children" policy.

The particular restriction needs to be justified in relation to the actual property and circumstances. For example, a genuine safety concern relating to a very young child may not necessarily justify rejecting a family with a 16-year-old.

Where a landlord is relying on one of these exceptions, keeping evidence of the reason for the decision is particularly important.

How Is Rental Discrimination Enforced?

Local authorities can investigate suspected breaches of the rental discrimination provisions.

Where a council concludes on the balance of probabilities that prohibited discrimination has occurred, it can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000. Further penalties can also apply where discriminatory conduct continues after enforcement action or where the same type of breach is repeated within five years.

Landlords, agents and others acting on their behalf can potentially face enforcement depending on their involvement in the breach.

For landlords, one of the best protections is therefore good record-keeping. Keep your affordability criteria clear, document why applications were accepted or declined and make sure communications and referencing decisions demonstrate that applicants are being assessed fairly.

The Simple Way to Stay Compliant

You do not need to make your tenant-selection process unnecessarily complicated.

Use clear affordability criteria. Apply the same standard to applicants. Include benefits and other legitimate income when calculating affordability. Base guarantor requirements on the results of referencing rather than someone's benefit status. Avoid blanket wording such as "no DSS" and do not automatically reject someone simply because they have children.

Where there is a genuine reason why children cannot safely or lawfully occupy a particular property, assess the actual circumstances and make sure you can explain and evidence why the restriction is necessary and proportionate.

A consistent, documented process is considerably safer than making decisions case by case without a clear framework.

Renting Out a Property in Greenford?

If you're a Greenford landlord and would like help making sure your adverts, tenant-selection process and ongoing lettings procedures reflect the current rules, Argant Estates can help.

We work with landlords throughout the letting process, from rental valuations and marketing through to tenant finding and ongoing property management, helping keep the process organised while ensuring you remain involved in the decisions that matter.

If you would also like a realistic view of what your property could achieve in today's Greenford rental market, get in touch with Argant Estates for a free, no-obligation valuation.

Argant Estates — local property specialists, Greenford

Disclaimer

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Rental discrimination rules can depend on the particular property, tenancy and circumstances, and legislation and government guidance may change over time.

Landlords should consider the circumstances of individual applicants and obtain independent legal advice where appropriate, particularly before relying on an exemption or imposing a restriction relating to children.