Housing, shops and services

The Disability Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people with HIV in the provision of goods and services – that means things such as housing, restaurants and hotels.

So a landlord can’t refuse to let a property to you because you have HIV. Nor can a shop or restaurant refuse to serve you or treat you less favourably because you have HIV. And a hotel can’t refuse you a room because you have HIV.

For the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act, people with HIV are defined as disabled. Some people with HIV don’t like being described in this way. Whether you agree with this description or not, you can still benefit from the protections of the Act.

This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.