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Recommendation on Discrimination on Grounds of Disabilities

On December 7, 2015, the Public Defender addressed L.G. to refrain from discriminatory treatment on any grounds in the rental relationship.

On September 30, 2015, a rental agreement was signed between L.B. and L.G., according to which, the owner rented 23 square meters of space to the applicant for 300 GEL. During signing the agreement, L.B. informed the owner that he had 3 children, one of which was a person with disabilities. The owner agreed to sign the rental agreement, as a result of which, L.B., together with his wife and children, moved to the rented house.

The owner, as soon as he noticed that the child was a person with autism spectrum disorder, asked L.B. to leave the house.

After objectively evaluating all the available evidence, the Public Defender came to a conclusion that the real reason for the termination of the rental agreement was the child's disability.

The Public Defender found that the termination of the rental agreement before the term due to the child’s disability, as well as addressing the child with degrading words and the fact that the applicant's family was forced to leave the house at night, were related to the rights enshrined in the article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, article 16 of the Constitution of Georgia, article 17 of the Constitution of Georgia and article 531 of the Civil Code of Georgia.

The Public Defender noted that the termination of the rental agreement by L.G. on the motive that he did not want a child with autism spectrum disorder to live in his house, as well as the false and stereotypical view that people with autism spectrum disorders necessarily inflict damage, cannot be considered as a legitimate goal of differentiated treatment, while in the absence of a legitimate goal, differentiated treatment cannot be justified.

The Public Defender held that L.G. committed direct discrimination against L.B. and his family members on grounds of disabilities.

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