SASKATOON -- In Canada, it鈥檚 illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent space to a person because of their race, citizenship, ethnicity or religion. But Black real estate agents and renters say it is still happening far too frequently.
Last December, a 27-year-old undergrad student named Michael was attempting to take over someone else鈥檚 lease for a Toronto apartment. He was hopeful because he had good credit and steady finances, and he was offering to pay two to three months鈥� worth of rent in advance, and the outgoing tenant said she was recommending him to the landlord.
But the process abruptly ended after he sent in his photo identification at the landlord鈥檚 request. He said he wasn鈥檛 given a reason for the rejection, except that: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 meet the landlord鈥檚 criteria.鈥�
鈥淭hese landlords, they keep doing it and doing it. When it happened, I was depressed for a week,鈥� Michael, who doesn鈥檛 want to be identified by his full name out of fear of racial harassment, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 even eat because I just felt humiliated.鈥�
Michael said he has had enough and is now awaiting a decision from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario on whether there was racial discrimination by that landlord. He says he鈥檚 let go of many similar incidents in the past, including other landlords showing him units that were not the ones he applied for.
In Canada, for governments and universities to conduct studies examining landlord bias. A rare outlier was a 2009 study from the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation which found that, in Toronto, Black single parents, as well as South Asian households, have a one-in-four chance of facing moderate to severe discrimination when looking for rental properties.
Black people in the rental industry told CTVNews.ca that anti-Black discrimination has gone unchecked for decades. Now, they鈥檙e strengthening calls for stronger penalties for landlords who discriminate, as well as laws to prevent them from requiring photo ID until after a bid is accepted.
Michael is one of approximately 5,700 members of the 鈥�, which is aimed at helping Black people and people of colour find rental accommodations in Toronto and the surrounding area.
The collective also includes landlords, members of the legal profession, and real estate brokers, including Charlene Ann Williams. In her 12 years in the industry, she said she鈥檚 seen many of her Black clients repeatedly passed up for listings -- despite having strong credit scores and long-term, well-paying jobs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 heartbreaking that people get treated this way based on the colour of their skin. It鈥檚 rampant,鈥� Williams told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. 鈥淧eople just don鈥檛 want to rent to Black people.鈥�
鈥淢y head explodes when I figure out what鈥檚 going on and it doesn鈥檛 take long,鈥� she said, noting it鈥檚 never gotten easier dealing with the discrimination.
Williams vividly recalls a recent example of a couple giving up trying to land a rental in Markham, Ont. and being forced to look in another city 鈥渂ecause if Markham was going to twice treat them that way, they鈥檒l take their money elsewhere.鈥�
Kay Layton, executive director of Black Lives Matter YYC in Calgary, said conversations about prejudice against Black renters in Canada have been happening for decades.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen instances of Black folks specifically asking a white friend to come with them to viewings or meeting regarding a new rental property, in hopes of coming across less threatening,鈥� he told CTVNews.ca over the phone.
LEGAL ROUTE CAN TAKE MONTHS
Real estate agents for properties act as the intermediary between landlords and potential renters and brokers. And Williams said in some cases, agents have blatantly admitted to her: 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing wrong with your clients, Charlene. My client [the landlord] just won鈥檛 take them.鈥�
She added other agents have told her: 鈥淢y clients want to rent to people who speak their language.鈥�
And it鈥檚 incidents like this that Williams said she probably should have taken to a higher authority like the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, but decisions there can take months and in the meantime, her clients 鈥渟till need a place to live.鈥�
Layton, who lives in Alberta, urged people to still file the complaint to a provincial body even if it could be a lengthy process because it 鈥渟till could help with forwarding change.鈥�
Laura Track, director of the B.C. Human Rights Clinic in Vancouver, told CTVNews.ca in an email that 鈥渄iscrimination by landlords, based on the colour of someone鈥檚 skin or any other characteristic, is disturbing and illegal. It also remains a problem in our communities.鈥�
鈥淥f course, in B.C.鈥檚 tight rental market, where rental housing is so scarce, landlords have a lot of freedom to choose among what鈥檚 often a large number of applicants for a given unit. It鈥檚 therefore pretty easy for a landlord to hide any discriminatory intent, and hard for a tenant to prove they were passed over due to their race.鈥�
And because a human rights complaint can take years, Track said 鈥渕ost cases are resolved more quickly through mediation.鈥�
, privacy law does not prevent landlords from asking to see IDs, such as driver's licences 鈥� as long as the landlord explains why they鈥檙e asking for it.
But fellow Black real estate agent Kenneth Toppin said asking for photo identification or a person鈥檚 full name can be a way for landlords to avoid renting to members of a particular community.
鈥淟andlords can find out the face of a person very easily and then turn that person down regardless of how qualified they are,鈥� he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. 鈥淎nd because there are no rules of them having to accept you -- landlords can say no for whatever reason.鈥�
CODED LANGUAGE COMMON
Toppin recalls a Black couple who were repeatedly denied an apartment in the GTA despite making $45,000 a month and had just bought a $1-million home and needed a place to rent temporarily.
When he hears real estate agents say 鈥渢he landlord is looking to go another route,鈥� he said it鈥檚 coded language for anti-Black racism. 鈥淚t happens so much and it鈥檚 a problem.鈥�
鈥淭he racism that Blacks face in the rental market is Jim Crow 2.0,鈥� he said, referring to the state and local laws in the U.S. that enforced racial segregation for decades. Toppin said the problem is even worse for people trying to find rentals on Kijiji or other online classified advertising services, which he likened to 鈥渢he Wild West.鈥�
鈥淥ur community, unfortunately, many times is left to fend for themselves,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually one of the worst processes a Black family can go through.鈥�
As a landlord himself, Toppin appreciates how others want to be able to choose their tenants, but he wants people held to account if they exhibit a pattern of refusing to accept certain renters.
He and Williams suggested landlords be fined or barred from renting out their units again if a regulatory body finds they鈥檝e discriminated against potential renters. They should also provide financial restitution for the victims, they said.
BLM YYC's Layton encouraged people in the short-term to call out racism online and potentially warn others.
鈥淲hen all else fails we can always expose racist landlords on social media and hope that will create some sort of change,鈥� he said.
Williams, who also sits on the inclusivity and diversity task force for the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, says 鈥渢hey鈥檙e trying to combat this on the most basic level.鈥�
And this means educating the more than 58,000 real estate agents on the ground and conveying to their landlord clients that discrimination is unacceptable.
鈥淎 lot of the reason that they [side] with the landlord is because there are so many of us,鈥� she said, adding that if the landlord 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 like what you as an agent are saying, he鈥檚 going to find someone else to represent him.鈥�
Edited by CTVNews.ca's Sonja Puzic and Jackie Dunham
