| SPOTLIGHT |
The Equality Act 2010 has streamlined existing discrimination legislation and extended its scope. Alison Westbrook explains its impact in relation to property.
Property owners and occupiers are affected by the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 which prohibit discrimination in relation to:
They are also affected by provisions which require ‘reasonable adjustments’ to be made to assist disabled persons. Different types of adjustments may be required depending on the type of property, whether a service is being provided, or a public function exercised.
Duty to make adjustments: Service providers
Anyone who provides goods, services or facilities to the public or who exercises a public function is under a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person is placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to a non-disabled person.
The duty occurs:
The second element of this duty is potentially costly. The Act specifies that it could entail removing, altering or avoiding the physical feature in question.
The duty to make adjustments is owed to disabled persons generally. It is anticipatory so service providers and those exercising a public function must anticipate the needs of disabled persons and make appropriate adjustments.
In general, a service provider cannot pass the cost of its ‘reasonable adjustments’ onto the disabled person.
Duty to make adjustments: Landlords
An obligation to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person is placed at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ is also imposed on landlords or managers of premises which are let or to be let. It has effect in relation to residential and commercial premises.
In contrast to service providers, the obligation only kicks in when a request is made by a disabled tenant/occupier.
It extends only to how things are done or to the provision of an auxiliary aid. It expressly does not require the removal or alteration of a physical feature – but be warned that it could still affect certain fixtures.
Duty to make adjustments: Common parts
This is a new obligation which has yet to come into force.
A landlord might be required to make reasonable adjustments to physical features of the common parts of a building if asked to do so by a disabled person who lives at the property.
The obligation relates only to common parts of buildings that contain residential units – so mixed use developments will be affected but purely commercial buildings will not. The obligation may apply to the structural parts of a building and not just the internal shared areas.
Before deciding whether the adjustment proposed is reasonable the landlord should consult with other people who may be affected by it. If works are to be carried out, the landlord and disabled person should agree their rights and responsibilities in respect of them. In this context a disabled person may be required to pay the costs of work and future reinstatement costs.
What does this mean to you?
Landowners need to be aware that a significant amount of legislation relates to disabled occupiers and it is helpful to have one reference point for this in the new Equality Act.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has been repealed in full but its obligations have been carried over and re-enacted. The Equality Act has harmonised the language and concepts of discrimination with the result that compliance – or not – might be more easily assessed.
Alison Westbrook is an associate at Shoosmiths. She can be contacted on 03700 86 6828 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
