DAVID J. HARRIS
Cites lack of knowledge
Latinos, blacks, Asians and people with children who recently searched for apartments in the Lowell area were likely to experience some type of discrimination, according to a newly released study.
The study, conducted by the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston between June and September of this year, found that renters who were either black, Latino, Asian or had children experienced discrimination in one- to two-thirds of their attempts to find rental housing in Greater Lowell and the Merrimack Valley.
Forms of discrimination varied from agents providing different information about the availability and cost of apartments to steering renters to certain neighborhoods and apartments. In several cases, renters of color had trouble even getting a real estate agent to return their calls or messages.
“What’s particularly disheartening is that [discrimination] continues even as the rental market softens,” said David J. Harris, executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston.
As part of the rental market audit, renters of color were paired with white renters and renters with children were paired with childless renters. Of the 66 paired tests, 31, or 47 percent, revealed evidence of discrimination.
Latinos experienced the highest incidence of discrimination. Of 11 pairs of Latino and white testers, seven showed evidence of possible discrimination.
In addition, of 29 tests where whites were paired with black renters, evidence of discrimination was found in more than half, or 15.
Subtle Methods
The discrimination was often subtle and not as overt as discriminatory practices in the past.
Compared to white testers, for example, people of color frequently received information about fewer available units. That occurred in 28 percent of the tests, giving testers of color access to fewer apartments than less-qualified white testers.
In addition, agents were more likely to ask black, Asian or Latino testers about their income and occupation than white testers.
Harris said that such discrimination arises in part from a lack of knowledge of fair housing laws and that organizations like the Fair Housing Center and real estate boards must do a better job of educating and training the public about fair housing issues.
“There’s a lot of work we need to do with landlords,” he said. “I think some landlords really don’t understand the law.”
Anne Rendle, chief executive officer of the Northeast Association of Realtors, said she found some of the results disturbing, especially since licensed real estate agents receive training on housing discrimination.
Fair housing is a component of the pre-licensing coursework that all agents are required to take and they’re tested on it before getting their licenses. Many real estate groups, including NEAR, also provide fair housing information to new members.
“We always include fair housing training in our new-member orientation,” said Rendle.
Fair housing classes are also offered, but not required, as part of the continuing education classes provided to Realtors. Realtors are required to take 12 hours of continuing education every two years in order to renew their licenses. NEAR, which offers continuing education classes monthly, provides two hours of fair housing training as part of that curriculum.
Rendle said she plans to present the study to NEAR’s Education Committee so it can determine what additional steps or training can be implemented to prevent housing discrimination.
If there’s a silver lining to the study, according to Harris, it’s that the incidence of discrimination was a bit lower in the Lowell area than in other parts of the state, and that city officials and local real estate groups have indicated that they are interested in addressing the issue.
Still, Harris found it particularly troubling that in this day and age agents were steering home seekers to certain neighborhoods. In the audit, there were four incidents in which testers were only shown apartments in neighborhoods predominantly populated by people of their race or national origin.
“The implication is that there are certain neighborhoods that should be preserved for one group or that some groups should be excluded. In 2004, that’s a very disturbing result,” he said.
Also, in one out of every nine calls, housing providers quoted higher rents and did not offer special discounts to people of color and testers with children. That practice puts renters who might be trying to save to purchase a home at a clear disadvantage because they would be forced to deal with higher rent payments, explained Harris.
“People who experience discrimination might not be aware that they’ve been subjected to discrimination – they may not feel emotional pain – but when you start to calculate the financial costs, they are” experiencing pain, he said.
Judith Tavano, director of the Housing Consumer Education Center for Community Teamwork Initiative of Lowell, said she did not think the results were very surprising. The study only illustrates the need for more education on fair housing, she said.
The education center, which received a $30,000 community development block grant from the city of Lowell in July to provide information and education on fair housing, is in the process of developing some type of mechanism where local residents can report incidents of housing discrimination.
In March, the center will be conducting a workshop on fair housing for members of the Northeast Association of Realtors, and is working with the city to identify other organizations that would be interested in similar workshops.
Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at apikounis@thewarrengroup.com.
