STUDY FINDS PERSISTENT BIAS AGAINST NON-WHITE RENTERS

Landlords Are Less Likely to Reply to Applicants with Black and Latino Names

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) study found that landlords are less likely to respond to applicants with African American and Latino sounding names when renting properties. This solidifies and contributes to rising residential segregation. 

In the largest study of rental discrimination, fictitious renters with names more often associated with White, African American, or Hispanic identities, were used. The research tracked over 25,000 interactions between those people and 8,476 property managers in 50 of the largest U.S. cities. Renters with White-sounding name received a 60% response rate, compared to a 54% and 57% response rate for those with African American and Hispanic identities. “African American and Hispanic/LatinX renters continue to face discriminatory constraints in the majority of U.S. cities,” the study said.

Along with other discriminatory practices, housing discrimination against renters of color leads to segregated neighborhoods in both homogenous and diverse cities. When Black or Latino children are raised in what are known as “opportunity neighborhoods” (i.e., areas that are mostly White and have good schools) they earn more later in maturity than those raied in segregated neighborhoods of color.

Other research have documented similar trends in the buyer’s market. Research has found that appraisers consistently undervalue homes in Black and Latino neighborhoods. In the NBER analysis, it was found that a lack of a response to a renter of color decreased the likelihood that someone of that ethnic group would live in a property by around 17%. The most discrimination for Black renters was identified in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Louisville. Latinos in Louisville, Houston, and Providence, Rhode Island, faced the strongest constraints, according to a recent analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Read the research report Racial Discrimination and Housing Outcomes in the United States Rental Market.

Article source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-29/landlords-are-less-likely-to-reply-to-black-latino-names#xj4y7vzkg