Research conducted by activist group Generation Rent is claiming “shocking discrimination towards minority ethnic communities while navigating the private rental market.”
The initial research is based on an extremely small number of private renters - just 105 - but Generation Rent claims the results nonetheless highlight “the many inequalities, both individual and structural, which affect people who identify as minority ethnic.”
The group says 38 per cent of minority ethnic respondents had been threatened with an eviction compared to 28 per cent of white British or Irish respondents. In addition, 19 per cent of minority ethnic respondents had been threatened with court action by their landlord or letting agent compared to eight per cent of white British or Irish respondents.
While 100 per cent of white British or Irish respondents had received a written tenancy agreement at the start of their last tenancy, only 94 per cent of minority ethnic respondents had. This dropped even further to 84 per cent amongst black respondents.
Generation Rent also claims that minority ethnic respondents were more than twice as likely to have experienced faulty electrics than white British or Irish respondents, and that of those who had reported their most recent repair issue to their landlord, minority ethnic respondents were 17 per cent more likely than white British or Irish respondents to report that their landlord had not rectified the issue.
The activists say, in a statement: “The experiences of minority ethnic private renters reveal a deeply polarised market. Some can access a professional and qualified part of the sector, with decent homes and qualified landlords and letting agents. However, overall, minority ethnic groups are disproportionately subjected to sub-standard homes, rented out by amateurish or even criminal individuals, unaware of or apathetic to their responsibilities.”
In a lengthy and detailed report, Generation Rent describes what it calls “exploitative and illegal treatment from landlords and letting agents.”
The report continues: ”Minority ethnic respondents were significantly more likely to have been threatened with several legal and illegal actions by landlords or letting agents, as were lower-income respondents. 38 per cent of minority ethnic respondents had been threatened with an eviction compared to 28 per cent of white British and Irish respondents.
“This rose even higher amongst certain groups, 41 per cent of Asian respondents and 48 per cent of black respondents reported that they had been threatened with an eviction. 22 per cent of minority ethnic respondents had been threatened with an unaffordable rent increase, compared to 16 per cent of white British or Irish respondents.
“19 per cent of minority ethnic respondents had been threatened with court action by their landlord or letting agent compared to eight per cent of white British or Irish respondents.
“Many of the minority ethnic respondents pointed to a culture of landlords and letting agents avoiding or evading their responsibilities by threatening their tenants, especially with evictions and rent increases.”
Generation Rent is demanding that, in response to the finding, the government must introduce the Renters’ Reform Bill “to effectively protect marginalised private renters” and it wants greater support for marginalised renters by raising Local Housing Allowance, scrapping the benefits cap, and increasing Discretionary Housing Payments funding to local authorities.
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Activist's are right on this one, where only ethnic Renter’s are Required to have Right 2 Rent share codes an extra barrier and potentially a big fines for landlords if they get it wrong. So its discrimination at highest level by Statute and not landlords fault to be careful.
Don’t speak to me about inequalities….
I would like to know how many of these questioned were of pale texture, I bet it was not that many or it would not work for this set of woke slackers. Also how many of those questioned rented off ethnic landlords? The whole article is skewed towards the current woke narrative and is incredibly racist in my view.
A very small sample of 105 renters, as it says. As Peter points out, we don't know if the survey sample 'controlled' for ethnicity of landlords. So we don't know if it was e.g. Asian landlords treating Asian tenants badly (perhaps according to cultural background/s the norm elsewhere) or not.
The survey also mentioned income. It isn't much of a surprise that those on lowest incomes get worse treatment as they may be in the poorest position to challenge it. And it is not unknown for many on the lowest incomes to come from ethnic minorities; so the survey appears to be finding the same thing (bad treatment) two different ways (poverty and ethnicity) but may be the same individuals affected.
Good that Generation Rent recognise there are good landlords and agents, even if they describe them as "professional" and "qualified". Don't know what qualification there is in land-lording though: so not one that we or the big Build-to-Rent operators can study for.
But the policies they promote are driving out landlords, from what I can see without distinguishing between good and bad ones (whether professional/qulaified or not).
I've long thought that just introducing a Decent Homes Standard (effectively enforced), not scrapping S21, would drive out many of the worst landlords; being a proxy. And that we should have nothing to fear from that.
Perhaps Generation Rent could do something proactive for once and support these people by taking these rogue landlords to court and thereby clean up the business a little. Or would that be too much like turkeys and Christmas
It would be interesting to see what ratio of ethnic minorities are in rent arrears.
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