Explains what laws protect you from discrimination when you buy, rent, or live in a property (or place), what you can do if you have been discriminated against, and where you can get support and advice.
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If your landlord is a public authority, and they have discriminated against you:
Most public authorities, like government departments, local authorities, police forces and NHS hospitals, are covered by the public sector equality duty.
If you think a public authority is not following its public sector equality duty then you should get legal advice as soon as possible. (See Useful contacts for information on where you can get legal advice.)
A local authority is rewriting its housing policies for its tenants and for people who are on its waiting list.
It is a public authority, so it has to follow the public sector equality duty. This means that, when preparing its new policy, it has to think about:
To find out more about the public sector equality duty, including how to make a complaint if you think an organisation is not following its duty, see our information on disability discrimination.
Public authorities have to respect your human rights as well as follow the Equality Act. This includes not discriminating against you, which is protected in British law by being included in the Human Rights Act. For more information, including how to make a complaint if your rights haven't been respected, see our pages on the Human Rights Act.
In the UK, our human rights are protected by law. This law is called the Human Rights Act 1998.
See our pages on the Human Rights Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.These are organisations whose role is of a public nature. This includes:
The Equality Act 2010 is the law that protects you from discrimination and gives you the right to challenge it.
See our pages on disability discrimination for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.This information was published in December 2017.
This page is currently under review. All content was accurate when published.
References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.