diff --git a/hypha/templates/base-apply.html b/hypha/templates/base-apply.html
index c0416d10308c653357f2255ad4a6680853d46579..5090295df7fc2e2aaaf0190d59db5add98a8137e 100644
--- a/hypha/templates/base-apply.html
+++ b/hypha/templates/base-apply.html
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
{% load i18n static wagtailcore_tags wagtailimages_tags navigation_tags util_tags hijack cookieconsent_tags %}<!doctype html>
{% wagtail_site as current_site %}
{% get_current_language as LANGUAGE_CODE %}
-<html class="no-js" lang="{{ LANGUAGE_CODE }}">
+{% get_current_language_bidi as LANGUAGE_BIDI %}
+<html class="no-js" lang="{{ LANGUAGE_CODE }}" dir="{% if LANGUAGE_BIDI %}rtl{% else %}ltr{% endif %}">
<head>
{# TODO fallbacks if page is not defined e.g. for 404 page #}
<meta charset="utf-8">
diff --git a/hypha/templates/base.html b/hypha/templates/base.html
index a4dff98fe01d2f5bdd71d24e66cff1c8de74ebcd..7f782c7192993c4d54fc88380ecdde9584d695b7 100644
--- a/hypha/templates/base.html
+++ b/hypha/templates/base.html
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
{% load static cache wagtailcore_tags wagtailimages_tags navigation_tags util_tags cookieconsent_tags i18n %}<!doctype html>
{% wagtail_site as current_site %}
{% get_current_language as LANGUAGE_CODE %}
-<html class="no-js" lang="{{ LANGUAGE_CODE }}">
+{% get_current_language_bidi as LANGUAGE_BIDI %}
+<html class="no-js" lang="{{ LANGUAGE_CODE }}" dir="{% if LANGUAGE_BIDI %}rtl{% else %}ltr{% endif %}">
<head>
{# TODO fallbacks if page is not defined e.g. for 404 page #}
<meta charset="utf-8">