99% of my landlords don't want Afro-Caribbeans or other troublemakers

[Mation]

I just heard a report on You and Yours, longer report tonight on Inside Out London on BBC1 (it'll be on iPlayer later - no link at the moment).

A reporter went undercover and found that several of the estate agents they approached undercover were prepared not to show flats to black people - to say they'd been taken already - if they were asked to. The programme tests this with two prospective tennants, one white, one black, and finds that, yep, they do.

It doesn't surprise me, but I know that lots of people (perhaps not so many on here) think that this kind of blatant racism is a thing of the past. Does it surprise you?

 

[Treacle Toes]

No, it doesn't surprise me.

 

[Crispy]

Nope It's sickening. Centuries of struggle and we've managed to make it unacceptable to be racist when there's someone watching. Go team.

 

[Dan U]

a link to the story Mation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24372509

and, not it doesn't really as Letting Agents will pretty much do anything to secure more money ime and if they can pick and choose tenants when demand is so high then they have the space to behave like this.

it's only going to get worse when Landlords suddenly are expected to check the myriad of permissible immigration documents prior to letting - its not difficult to imagine letting agents simply ignoring all people who have a different colour skin to white and/or any kind of accent.

 

[TopCat]

Not much has changed since landlords posted "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish". My family were always bemused about coming after the dogs.

 

[trashpony]

I heard that too and no, it doesn't surprise me. I wish they'd said at the end of the piece that they'd handed the information over to the police rather than that the EOC will be 'looking into it'.

You need some high profile prosecutions to stop EAs (and landlords) acting like the racist cunts they are

 

[weepiper]

'No blacks, no dogs, no Irish'. The only thing that's changed since the sixties is that you can't be brazen about it anymore.

 

[ska invita]

well im surprised.

 

[treelover]

This is awful, hard to believe it is happening in 2013,

Its also happening to people on benefit, and its even more blatant, an example, you can go into any trendy liberal café/bookshop and there will be plenty of accommodation ads that say "no DHSS"

 

[TopCat]

'No blacks, no dogs, no Irish'. The only thing that's changed since the sixties is that you can't be brazen about it anymore.

That's it.

 

[Stigmata]

I'm a bit surprised at this tbh. I never even had a white landlord when I lived in London

 

[trabuquera]

Not surprised at all. Still fuming though.

 

[Mation]

a link to the story Mation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24372509

and, not it doesn't really as Letting Agents will pretty much do anything to secure more money ime and if they can pick and choose tenants when demand is so high then they have the space to behave like this.

it's only going to get worse when Landlords suddenly are expected to check the myriad of permissible immigration documents prior to letting - its not difficult to imagine letting agents simply ignoring all people who have a different colour skin to white and/or any kind of accent.

Cheers for the link.

And yes, I can well imagine letting agents saying "well I have to if that's what the client wants" as some sort of defence.

 

[TopCat]

Letting agents are a parasitical layer of scum in our society.

 

[girasol]

I'm surprised, shocked and saddened

 

[girasol]

and disgusted too!

 

[Treacle Toes]

'No blacks, no dogs, no Irish'. The only thing that's changed since the sixties is that you can't be brazen about it anymore.

There is a very large part of me that would prefer it if things were much more 'honest' in this regard. Better the devil you know and all that. It also guards against any of the manipulative pretence that things are so much different.

 

[krtek a houby]

They had a landlord on BBC London this morning who said "it's not discrimination, it's about profit - they (people of Caribbean descent and Asians) don't pay the rent".

 

[IC3D]

Its on BBC London news, estate agents eh

 

[el-ahrairah]

yuk yuk yuk...

fucking scumbags.

 

[killer b]

i'm sure someone on here had direct experience of this recently? anyway, no. i'm not at all surprised.

 

[Fuchs66]

I'm a bit surprised at this tbh. I never even had a white landlord when I lived in London

Not all racists are white though! (No insult intended towards any of your landlords.)

 

[Mation]

They had a landlord on BBC London this morning who said "it's not discrimination, it's about profit - they (people of Caribbean descent and Asians) don't pay the rent".

Weak.

I had a job once, with a UK company but recruiting for a company based abroad. I was doing the interviewing, up until I was asked not to send any black or gay people, anyone over 30 or any men with long hair. I quit and was very sad to see a colleague take over the role and agree to do it. (The UK company's contract was coming to a close and they apparently weren't going to renew it.)

 

[Crispy]

Letting agents are a parasitical layer of scum in our society.

They are parasites upon the parasites that are landlords. They're like malaria.

 

[Badgers]

It doesn't surprise me, but I know that lots of people (perhaps not so many on here) think that this kind of blatant racism is a thing of the past. Does it surprise you?

Not much

I worked (sorry) in estate agency for a while and we had to refuse business from landlords who did not want 'certain' people in their property. Generally though most landlords were fine Nothing like 99% at all, more like the other way round. Those that were racist generally focused their bigotry towards Asian people not Afro-Caribbeans as Asian peoples food smells

The US is FAR worse for this. Most estate agents work in their own street/neighborhood and 'select' who will fit in.

 

[Crispy]

i'm sure someone on here had direct experience of this recently? anyway, no. i'm not at all surprised.

Yeah, waiting to be seen at the agents, black couple in front after the same spec, told nothing available, but when they took their turn, there were loads to see. Can't remember who it was.

 

[nino_savatte]

Tbh, letting agencies need to be better regulated. Presently anyone can set up a letting agency. Even career criminals fresh out of prison can establish their own agency.

But this is a return to the bad old days.

 

[krtek a houby]

Weak.

I had a job once, with a UK company but recruiting for a company based abroad. I was doing the interviewing, up until I was asked not to send any black or gay people, anyone over 30 or any men with long hair. I quit and was very sad to see a colleague take over the role and agree to do it. (The UK company's contract was coming to a close and they apparently weren't going to renew it.)

The landlord they had on was of Caribbean origin, which was kind of ironic, I suppose.

I remember 20 years back, a mate of mine doing door to door sales for home improvements and his boss told him - "if any Asians answer the door, just apologise and say you have the wrong address"!

 

[Dandred]

What utter cunts people can be.

 

[krtek a houby]

What utter cunts people can be.

No doubt some cunt apologist for racism will be along now in a moment and say it's not racism, it's about oppression of the working classes etc