Workings Of The Disability Discrimination Act

There has been some bewilderment amongst the property world as to the impact that the Disability Discrimination may have on both owners and occupiers. In particular, landlords have been concerned that they will inevitably have to alter premises to accommodate tenants with disabilities. A recent case has shown that the Act may not be as draconian as first feared.

A disabled tenant sought the consent of her landlord to the installation of a stairlift to the communal staircase to reach the third floor of the block of flats in which she lived, to ease her access to and from her flat. The landlord refused and the tenant claimed that the refusal constituted discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a disabled person occupying premises in the way that benefits or facilities are permitted to be used.