Landlords risk breaching Equality Act over prescription cannabis
Landlords, property managers, and housing associations are currently at risk of breaching the Equality Act over their approach to prescription cannabis, according to a new Cannabis Industry Council (CIC) report.
Entitled ‘The Use of Prescription Cannabis in Buildings’, the report reminds housing providers of their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination based on disability (various medical conditions would qualify).
The report states that housing providers must ensure reasonable accommodations are available to tenants and leaseholders. This includes allowing the use of prescribed medical cannabis within the confines of a tenant’s private space and ensuring privacy and confidentiality.
Furthermore, the report notes that any rental agreement provision prohibiting or significantly restricting the possession and consumption of prescribed cannabis would be discriminatory. This could lead to a housing provider being taken to court, or added to a ‘rogue’ landlord database.
Report author Mohammad Wasway of PatientsCann commented:
“Housing providers must treat prescription cannabis patients like any other medical patients, and indeed should take steps to ensure patients can consume their medication at home.
“We urge landlords and housing associations to proactively engage with tenants and leaseholders, to ensure that do not discriminate against patients with disabilities.”
CIC Standards Working Group Chair Elisabetta Faenza said:
“The Cannabis Industry Council will be engaging with housing providers to help them understand their legal obligations and support their tenants and leaseholders.
“We believe it would be proportionate for landlords who continue to deny patients their basic rights to be added to ‘rogue’ landlord databases or indeed be taken to court.”
The report also provides guidance for patients to help them understand their legal rights, and to navigate this complex area. The report has been reviewed by lawyer Robert Jappie of Fieldfisher.
Since 2018, specialist doctors have been allowed to prescribe cannabis medicines to their patients, who are then legally allowed to possess and consume this medication.
The report can be viewed here.
