Rental advert compliance checker
Paste your advert text. The tool flags wording that the courts or the regulator are likely to treat as discriminatory under the Renters' Rights Act (England) or the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Why these phrases trip the wire
"No DSS" and equivalent wording has been ruled indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex and disability in repeated county court decisions. Per GOV.UK guidance for landlords on the Renters' Rights Act, blanket bans on children, pets, or benefits claimants are not enforceable. Wales sits under the separate Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 framework with similar protections.
Affordability tests applied consistently to all applicants are lawful. Phrasing the advert around the property (e.g. "two double bedrooms; pet considered on request") rather than around tenant categories is the safer route.
Frequently asked questions
Is "No DSS" actually illegal?
It is treated as indirect discrimination. County courts have ruled against blanket "No DSS" criteria on the grounds of sex and disability discrimination, and major portals refuse listings using the phrase.
Can I still set affordability criteria?
Yes — affordability tests applied consistently to all applicants, regardless of income source, are lawful. State the rent-to-income multiple in writing and apply it uniformly.
What about pets after the Renters' Rights Act?
Blanket "no pets" wording is unenforceable. You must consider each request on its merits and respond within 28 days. Consent can be conditional on pet damage insurance.
Does this apply in Scotland?
Scotland has its own private residential tenancy regime with separate anti-discrimination rules. This tool covers England (Renters' Rights Act) and Wales (Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016).
What about portal listings — Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket?
The major UK portals removed "No DSS" wording in 2020 and now reject listings containing the phrase at upload. Wording that slips through still exposes the landlord and the agent to a discrimination claim — the portal removing the listing does not retrospectively cure the breach.
Can I be fined or sued for discriminatory advert wording?
Yes. A tenant or rejected applicant can bring a discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010, with damages typically in the range £1,000 to £6,000 per case. The Property Ombudsman and the regulator can also impose sanctions on letting agents.
Does the tool catch tone or just specific phrases?
It scans for a fixed list of phrases that the courts and regulator have flagged. It will not catch coded language ("looking for the right person", "must fit our standards") that conveys the same intent. Treat a clean scan as a starting point, not a sign-off.
How this is calculated
The scanner runs the advert text through a curated list of phrases that the courts and regulator have flagged as discriminatory under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and the Equality Act 2010. Each phrase carries a documented reason (the underlying protected characteristic and the case law) and a suggested rewrite that stays within the law while preserving the landlord's screening intent.
The list draws on three sources: the GOV.UK landlord guidance for the Renters' Rights Act, the Welsh Government guidance on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and the public county-court rulings on indirect discrimination (notably Tyler v Paul Carr Estate Agents and Rooney v Rooney). Phrases like "No DSS", "No benefits", "Working tenants only" and "Professionals only" all sit on the list because they have been treated as proxies for excluding tenants on grounds of sex and disability.
The scan is case-insensitive substring matching — "no children" inside a longer sentence still triggers a hit. It does not parse meaning; a landlord using "Pets considered" does not get flagged even though "no pets" would be flagged. Coded language ("must suit a particular lifestyle", "looking for the right person") is not on the list; the FAQ flags this as a known limitation.
Suggested rewrites follow the same principle: describe the property and a uniformly applied affordability test rather than the tenant. A consistent rent-to-income multiple (typically 30x monthly rent annual income) applied to every applicant is the documented safe harbour under both the Equality Act and the Renters' Rights Act framework.
Related legislation
Discriminatory advert wording engages both the Equality Act 2010 (the underlying protected characteristics — sex, disability, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, and others) and the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (the statutory ban on blanket pet, child and benefits exclusions for new lettings in England).
In Wales, the parallel framework is the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, which has covered family lettings since 2022 and uses similar tests. Scotland sits under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 and the Equality Act — different mechanics, same anti-discrimination principles.
Letting agents face an additional layer through the Property Ombudsman scheme and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The CMA's consumer protection guidance for lettings professionals treats discriminatory wording as a misleading practice as well as a discrimination issue.
Sources & references
All thresholds, dates, and figures shown on this page come from the following authoritative sources.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. For decisions affecting a specific tenancy, lease, or tax position, consult a qualified solicitor, accountant, or housing adviser.