More than 30 people have made complaints to the Director of Equality Investigations against landlords, agents and auctioneers they believe are guilty of discrimination.
The Equal Status Act - which promotes equality in the provision of services - protects prospective or existing tenants from discrimination by a landlord or letting agent on nine grounds.
These are gender, marital status, family status, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age or membership of the Traveller community. Of the 539 cases referred this year to the Director of Equality Investigations, Ms Melanie Pine, under the Act, 6 per cent are accommodation-related. However, none has been decided upon yet.
The Equality Authority estimates each case takes an average of 18 months and said this is partly "a resource issue".
A complainant has two months after the alleged discriminatory act to notify the respondent in writing and bring the nature of the allegation to their attention. If they are not satisfied with the reply, they can refer the case to the Director of Equality Investigations. Cases are often settled through mediation.
Many of the complaints referred by housing agency Threshold relate to the family status of the tenant, said Threshold's services co-ordinator Mr Stephen Large.
"A lot of landlords are reluctant to have children on their properties. The excuse is often that they are not insured for children, which is generally a smokescreen. A way of putting the blame elsewhere.
"The Act also applies to existing tenants. We've had a client who lived in a property over eight years, everything was fine until she found out she was pregnant and notice to quit was suddenly issued. The landlord hasn't directly said that was the reason but it's fairly obvious it was."
Race-related complaints are also common but may be difficult to resolve under the Equal Status Act. "Unless someone comes out and says they won't let a place to a person because of their race, it may be difficult to make a case," said Mr Large.
There are several exemptions under the Act. Advertisements for accommodation sharing specifying male or females only are "allowable to a degree" in cases where there is a same-sex group sharing. Also if landlords live in a small premises, they can choose with whom they want to live.
The Act does not protect those claiming rent supplements. "There is a provision under the Act to review the grounds and possibly add to them. There should definitely be a push for the introduction of economic status as a ground," said Mr Large. "We need a success case to grab public attention, so that people in similar circumstances will come forward."
Mr Patrick O'Leary of the Equality Authority said: "When a case is resolved, it will set a precedent and enable us to establish guidelines in this area. The Act is in the very early stages and last year was its first full year in operation. There has been a small increase on the accommodation front.
"If a case is found in favour of the complainant, they may be awarded financial compensation or the landlord or housing service may be ordered to comply with the Equal Status Act."
When contacted by The Irish Times a spokeswoman for Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute said the details of the Equal Status Act 2000 had been circulated to members, although she had "no feedback" on whether it was being implemented.
Mr Igor Fleming of LMF property management, who is involved in property letting, said: "An awful lot of estate agents and landlords are not aware of their obligations. It is incumbent upon people to take cases if they feel they have been discriminated and upon agents to let a client go if they insist on breaching the Act."
