A Manchester student looking for accommodation claims she was told people from the “Indian subcontinent” would not be accepted because they “lie too much” and “practise deceit” in a shocking exchange that sheds light on racism in renting.
Bulbul, 29, said she was “completely shattered” by the email after enquiring about a two-bedroom house on SpareRoom.
The exchange was uncovered as part of campaign group Generation Rent’s research into the experiences of minority ethnic renters in the UK.
The group found they were more likely than white British or Irish students to experience rude or hostile behaviour from a landlord or letting agent – 38 per cent reported such behaviour compared to 32 per cent of white respondents.
Minority ethnic students were also more likely to report landlords coming into the property when they shouldn’t – 36 per cent to 20 per cent – and more likely to experience an unaffordable rent increase. In total, 145 renters between the ages of 18 and 29 took part in the survey.
When PhD student Bulbul, who did not wish to give her second name, applied for the room in the Hulme area of Manchester, someone she believes to be the landlord emailed her back to say they had “very bad experience with students/professionals from the Indian subcontinent”.
The offensive email, seen by The Independent, continued: “They lie too much, practise deceit, they are filthy not dirty, opportunists, irresponsible, abscond without paying dues and generally they are poor paymasters. Their reputation and professionalism have gone down the drain within the UK context. As a result I have stopped taking Indian students for quite a while now.”
The host then claimed the “majority of landlords don’t offer tenancy to people from the subcontinent”, and if they do so they ask for two UK guarantors or six months’ rent upfront. These extra requirements were “self-inflicted by the aforesaid students/professionals”, they added.
The host went on to suggest that he would give Bulbul the benefit of the doubt, adding: “You could be a suitable person indeed.” The rent was £550 a month without bills. He signed off the email: “Think about it carefully and get back to me asap.”
Bulbul told The Independent: “The moment I received it [the email] I was completely shattered. I lost faith in the housing system in the UK. I thought, ‘I am going to be discriminated against like this over and over again’.
“In my first year, I was staying in university accommodation and I didn’t want to stay there in the second year as well, because the room was quite small. As a PhD student you spend a lot of time working in your room so I wanted to look for a bigger room, but after these experiences I didn’t really want to try my luck again.”
She was able to get a room in university accommodation for her second year but is still reeling from the exchange.
She added: “I have never received this kind of treatment from anybody in the UK, or anybody in the world.” Bulbul explained she didn’t want to report the incident to the police because she was worried that getting involved with the UK legal system might impact her visa.
Bulbul shared what had happened with friends, with some revealing they had also experienced racism when renting. Bulbul decided to reply to the email, telling the landlord “generalisations based on nationality or background can be hurtful and are not reflective of every individual”, but never received a response.
The Independent contacted the landlord but did not receive a reply.
Generation Rent’s research also found minority ethnic renters under 30 were 18 per cent more likely than white respondents to have moved away from the area that they grew up in.
Minority ethnic respondents were more than twice as likely to have moved out of the area because it had become too expensive, the research found.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Many young people, especially ethnic minority young people, are being forced to make these decisions because they cannot afford any other alternative. This cannot continue.”
The campaign group also carried out a mystery shopper exercise on 200 properties that found white profiles were 36 per cent more likely to receive a positive response when applying to rent online than Black people.
Banseka Kayembe, director of Naked Politics, which collaborated on the research, said: “This report clearly shows many young people are suffering in the rental market – and that minority ethnic people are facing more exacerbated or specific challenges to their quality of life.
“It’s also clear that more young people of colour are facing issues around class, compounded by racism from many different actors within private renting.”
Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom, said: “It’s illegal for anyone renting property in any form to discriminate based on race or nationality and we take a zero-tolerance approach. Finding somewhere to rent in today’s climate is hard enough without having to deal with discrimination too.”
He added that, in this case, the email exchange took place away from SpareRoom and it was not reported at the time. “We take discrimination extremely seriously and we will always take action to close the accounts of anyone who breaks the law,” Mr Hutchinson said.
