Arbitrary extra cleaning, additional paperwork and being rejected for a property based on their names or accents are just some of the shocking instances of rental racism a University of Melbourne study released today has uncovered.
‘Shelter is a dignity’, a collaboration between the University and Tenants Victoria surveying 144 renters, has found almost 70 percent of them have experienced direct rental racism in their search for accommodation, with 60 percent saying they were denied housing based on their racial background.
“This research gives shocking insight into the damaging impacts of rental racism that’s putting families at risk of homelessness, destroying mental health, and leaving lasting scars,” said Tenants Victoria CEO Jennifer Beveridge.
“When a mother and her children are driving around homeless for two months because agents won’t even return her calls, we have a system in crisis.”
One respondent, a Pakistani woman in Glenroy, reports being asked to provide large deposits of money and multiple references to ‘give weightage’ to her application. Another woman, also Pakistani, tells of an owner who scrutinised whether her toddler was ‘toilet trained’ as the ‘carpets were new’, and another of renting a room in an already full six-bedroom house.
Rental Racism
“When we are cooking we use masala – you know, we like a strong smell with our food. It’s a good smell for us. So, when we had an inspection, I never cooked. Otherwise, if I cook biryani … then their focus will go onto my kitchen. So that’s why I don’t want to put their focus on my kitchen,” tells a Pakistani woman whose response is published in the study.
The toll of rental racism has also been documented in the study, with 67 percent of those surveyed noting a decline in their physical or mental health.
The report calls for an Antiracism Housing Framework to be established, improved reporting pathways, cultural safety training, and adding more multicultural housing workers to the workforce to support renters.
“The discrimination and systemic racism described in our report has damaging consequences, creating barriers to new migrants’ ability to build stable lives in Australia,” said Dr Erika Martino, lead researcher from the University of Melbourne.
“People are experiencing hypervigilance, fear, stress, anxiety and depression. The mental health costs of racism are substantial and reverberate through our workplaces and community. We need to acknowledge, as the title of the report suggests, that ‘Shelter is a dignity’ that everyone deserves.”
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