English letting agents who ban children breach equality rules, says ombudsman

Almost 300,000 families in England have been unable to rent somewhere they wanted in the last five years because they have children, according to Shelter. Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images

Blanket bans on letting properties to families with children discriminate against women and are against the sector’s code of practice in England, the Property Ombudsman has ruled, after an NHS nurse and mother challenged the practice.

Lexi Levens, 33, and her four children were forced to register as homeless after they were handed a no-fault eviction on Christmas Eve and no landlords or letting agents would rent to them, despite her and her husband passing affordability checks.