Housing bias is discrimination in the housing market, such as refusing to rent to certain groups or using language to discourage them. It can be difficult to prove and is often targeted towards minorities and poor people. Laws protect against housing bias and penalties can be severe.
Housing bias is a form of discrimination where preferential treatment is given to certain people in the housing market. Housing bias can take many forms, from refusals to rent to single mothers to the notorious restrictive agreements that prevented black Americans from buying homes in the 1960s. Many nations have made housing bias illegal, and there are systems in place to report cases of suspected bias. If an individual or business is convicted of housing prejudice, the penalty can sometimes be quite severe.
One of the most classic forms of housing bias can be found in listings for rental homes. For example, an ad might specify that applicants must be Christian or that female hirelings are preferred. Owners may also express a preference for people of a particular skin color. By using language like “no Chinese,” a landlord hopes to discourage people he deems undesirable from applying for rent on a house, apartment, or room. In some parts of the world, this type of language is prohibited by fair housing laws, although landlords can specify that they want non-smokers, people without pets, or people who don’t use drugs, because these preferences don’t violate the laws antidiscrimination.
The housing bias for renters may be even more subtle. For example, a landlord may simply never rent to Black tenants, even if they’re legally restricted from specifying so in a listing, or a landlord may require higher deposits from some people than others. This type of housing bias can be difficult to prove in court, making it very difficult to prosecute, and often goes unreported, because tenants may not realize it’s happening, or may not be aware of the laws surrounding housing bias.
People who want to buy homes may also experience housing biases. Most infamously, people of a particular skin color or creed are not allowed to buy homes in particular neighborhoods. While this is rarely explained in many countries due to housing bias laws, subtle lobbying or prompting can be used to discourage people from looking elsewhere. For example, a real estate agent who serves Hispanic clients may simply not show them homes in certain neighborhoods.
Minorities tend to be the most common victims of housing bias, although cases of the reverse bias sometimes occur. Poor people are also targets for housing bias, especially if they receive government assistance with housing payments, and sometimes parents also experience housing bias, from landlords who are concerned about the harm that could be caused by children. All of these groups are protected by housing bias laws. Most nations have agencies where you can report housing bias, such as the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the United States.
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