Don’t Discriminate: What the Law Says About Tenant Applications
When screening a prospective tenant and you feel they’re not a good fit, a Property Manager/Landlord must check with the state discrimination law to check if their reasons may be considered unlawful. It’s always important to review state legislature to avoid issues such as a lawsuit.
In Queensland, the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1991 states that it is unlawful to discriminate against people because of their:
- Family responsibilities
- Sexuality
- Gender identity
- Sex (whether they are male or female)
- Relationship or parental status (whether they are married, divorced, widowed, single, separated, de facto married, same sex de facto married, have children or no children)
- Race
- Age
- Impairment (physical, intellectual, psychiatric or mental disability, injury or illness, HIV+, the use of a guide dog, wheelchair or other remedial devices)
- Religious belief or activity
- Political belief or activity
- Trade union activity
- Lawful sexual activity (e.g., a lawfully employed sex worker)
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Association with or relation to someone who has any of the listed attributes or personal characteristics
In cases like pet ownership and smoking, the Property Manager/Landlord has a right to allow or disallow tenants applying to live on their property. This can be discussed further upon signing of the tenancy agreement.
If you want to appeal to pet-owning tenants, consider suitable fencing on the property as well as special terms for pet owners to responsibility for pest control for fleas when their tenancy ends.
A Property Manager/Landlord has a right to ban smoking inside their property. However, section 183 of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation (RTRA) Act states that the tenant has a right to have peace, comfort and privacy at the property and this is usually interpreted as the right to smoke outdoors on the property.
