The WRC found that a rental advertisement stating “no rent allowance accepted” discriminated on the housing assistance ground, but dismissed a prospective tenant’s complaint against the landlord. The decision was dated 5 April 2017.
The prospective tenant said he saw the advertisement online and was told by phone that rent supplement was not accepted. He argued that the landlord, who owned the property, was responsible. The landlord denied placing or authorising the advertisement and said he first learned of it through the hearing notice.
The WRC accepted the landlord’s evidence that he had not known about or consented to the advertisement or the tenant’s subletting. It found that the person who placed the advertisement was not acting as the landlord’s agent and that there was insufficient evidence of a link establishing agency or vicarious liability. The complaint against the landlord was therefore not well founded, despite the finding that the advertisement itself was discriminatory.