The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2019 set out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in the private rented and approved housing body sectors. The Acts apply to every dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy, subject to a limited number of exceptions. The Acts make no reference to animals. Any house rules that might be agreed between a landlord and a tenant at the start of a tenancy must not contravene any legal right of either party including those provided under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2015. The Equal Status Acts, which fall under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, prohibit discrimination in the provision of accommodation on any of the 10 grounds set out below, subject to some exemptions.
The grounds on which discrimination is outlawed by the Equal Status Acts are:
- gender ground;
- civil status ground;
- family status;
- sexual orientation;
- religion;
- age;
- disability;
- race;
- membership of the Traveller community; and
- housing assistance.
The housing assistance ground was provided under the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 in connection with the provision of accommodation and protects against discrimination where a person is in receipt of housing assistance from the State such as rent supplement, housing assistance payments or other social welfare payments. The housing assistance ground protects anyone who has applied for and is eligible to receive such payments, and applies both to existing tenants and to those who are looking for accommodation.
Further information with regard to redress where discrimination occurs is available on the website of the Workplace Relations Commission at the link below:
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/equal-status-and-employment-equality/equal-status/
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