Zoopla announces "rent without housing" & # 39;

Zoopla has banned advertisements prohibiting tenants from receiving housing benefits.

The National Housing Federation found on Zoopla one in ten ads specifying "no SSD" or "no housing allowance".

The National Landlords Association (NLA) and the Residential Landlord & # 39; s Association (RLA) have stated that general restrictions should not be used.

Zoopla will now specifically prohibit "No DSS" restrictions and remove "No DSS" fields from its software.

Charlie Bryant, CEO of Zoopla, said: "We fully support the recommendations of the NLA and the RLA, which oppose the general prohibitions imposed on tenants receiving housing benefits, and we are happy to take measures that clarify this position. "

This decision follows growing pressure on mortgage lenders, insurers, real estate agents and real estate sites to not discriminate against beneficiaries.

This month, NatWest Bank announced that it would be changing its restrictions on mortgages "for rent" – which led an owner to receive a request to revoke an existing mortgage while being denied a new mortgage after renting the property to an individual. tenant on housing allowances.

Parliamentary inquiry

Parliament's Labor and Pension Committee has launched an investigation into discrimination against benefit claimants.

It surveys lenders, homeowners, agents and benefit recipients and conducts an online survey of asylum seekers who have had difficulty finding housing or problems with their homeowners.

The National Housing Federation and the Shelter said that women and people with disabilities are most at risk of discrimination, which could be a violation of the 2012 Equality Act.

Last year, in a court case, a single mother was compensated for discrimination by a rental agency that refused to consider her as a tenant because she was receiving benefits.

It argued that the restriction indirectly discriminated against women, especially single women, as they were proportionately more likely to claim a housing allowance than single men, according to official figures.