They refuse to deal with someone
Here is by far the most straightforward method of discrimination. A landlord or manager decides he or she doesn’t want to rent to a particular protected class and simply refuses to show anyone from that class property.
It is probably not as blatant as saying, “I’m not going to rent to any (fill in the blank), so get out of here,” though it sometimes is. But it could take the form of being rude or inconsiderate to a member of a protected class, when he or she was polite and solicitous to the “ideal” applicant.
They demand different conditions or higher standards
One income standard for whites, a higher one for blacks. One minimum length of time on the job for whites, a longer one for blacks. Different conditions or standards can also take the form of unequal application of house rules or the wording of house rules.
A rules such as “children not allowed to play in the hall,” illegally discriminates on the basis of familial status. The right way to word the rule would be “no one allowed to play in the hall.”
They say a property is not available
Here is where landlords and managers try to cut corners. They have already decided they don’t want any Hispanics renting from them, so whenever a His- panic calls to inquire about a property, they simply say it isn’t available. My, aren’t they clever. They’re so clever, in fact, that it is child’s play for a Fair Housing tester to catch them in their discrimination. They send out two sets of people, one white, one Hispanic.
The Hispanic is told the property is already rented, the white is welcomed with open arms and asked when he or she would like to move in.
They do something which makes it more difficult to rent
This one is just one step removed from saying a property’s not available when it is. Let’s use the example of the Hispanic again. The Hispanic applicant calls and asks to see the vacant unit, setting up an appointment for two o’clock. The clever landlord is nowhere to be found at two. But the applicant is persistent. He calls and reschedules for four o’clock. Once again, the landlord is gone at the appointed hour. This applicant is really persistent. He calls back and reschedules for two o’clock the next day. The landlord is ready at the scheduled time, because that morning he rented the unit to someone else, a non-Hispanic.
That would probably be considered making it more difficult to rent by Fair Housing enforcers. Even if the landlord had legitimate reasons for being gone at the scheduled appointment times, he should have made some kind of arrangement to let the applicant know. That is one reason for always getting the name and phone number of the people who want to look at your property (see May 2009 issue, “How to Qualify Applicants by Phone”). If something comes up you can call them and reschedule. Not doing so can and would be construed as discrimination.
It’s not what you meant, it’s what somebody thinks you might have meant.
They advertise indicating protected classes not welcome
Use the wrong word and pay a big fine. That applies not just to ads in the paper or flyers you give out to apartment seekers, it applies to what you say to them. “Oral representation” is considered advertising. See the landlord manual Profitable Tenant Selection for a list of words that will and that might cause you problems if you use them.
They evict
Some landlords will rent to a member of a protected class, but then evict them for a violation of the rental agreement or the complex’s rules. At the same time they will have tolerated the same or worse behavior from someone who was not a member of a protected class. It doesn’t work. The evicted tenant could probably successfully claim that he or she was evicted because of the fact of his or her membership in the protected class.
They attempt to do any of those things
Even if the landlord didn’t succeed in discriminating, but only tried, it is enough to get the complaint filed.
How to avoid complaints
The best was to avoid complaints and problems is to treat everyone equally. Good tenants come in all races, religions, nationalities, genders, handicaps, and family make-ups. So do bad ones. Establish your neutral rental criteria and start the selection and verification process with the first applicant that appears to meet your criteria. Accept that applicant or reject and go on to the next one. Whatever you do, don’t just spread out a bunch of rental applications and decide which one you like the best.