By LEE TING
At some point in life, we need to leave the safety of our home to be independent.
As if searching for an accommodation that suited all your criteria was not hard enough, you sometimes find yourself turned away at the door just because of your skin colour.
Yes, racial discriminating renting exists and the first to be affected are international students.
“A lot of places put up advertisements that read ‘Chinese only’ which I think is unfair,” said School of Communication (SOC) student Luqman Hamsa Abdullah, 28, who is of African American descent.
Luqman said it was not hard for him and his wife to find a place, but getting the owner and agent to trust them was.
“Finding a place to stay was fairly easy for my wife and I. However, the agent would constantly stop by the house to look for damages,” Luqman said.
Former School of Engineering student Khayat Taylor, 26, from Arab, found out that some landlords charge unfair rental fees to foreign tenants.
“A lady I called offered to let me rent her place. But because she sounded sketchy, I asked a Chinese friend of mine to call as well. When he did, he was offered half the price of rent she offered me,” Khayat said.
Racial discrimination happens not only to international students but locals as well.
Coming from Penang, SOC student Joshua Michael Joseph, 22, said he faced racial discrimination too.
“When I first contacted the agents to look at the place, all will be fine because I spoke fluent English. But when I show up, the agent and owner actually went, ‘Oh, you are Indian?’” Joshua said.
Property agent Gigi Wong Zi Wei, said landlords’ choices are usually made based on past experiences with tenants of different races.
“Most start out with no preferences but because they have had bad experiences with particular race groups, they decided to cut their losses and rent to those they want,” Wong said.
Wong added that landlords also believe it is easier to communicate with those of the same race as themselves.
Former American Degree Programme student Natasha Lee Mei Ann, 21, actually found a house that fit her budget and criteria, but it turns out that the landlord does not want to rent to non-Muslims.
“Because the landlord was a devoted Muslim, he preferred to rent to Muslims only as he wanted to keep the house halal. I told him that I am not much of a drinker and I do not eat pork but he still would not budge,” Lee said.
Though it is hard to believe, people of different race and religion can actually stay together.
“I live with an Indian and a Muslim (now),” Lee said. “One does not eat beef and one can only eat halal. It is not hard; we just have a set of dinnerware and cooking utilities that are designated for ourselves.”
For landlord Norman Hadi Marjuki, he does not believe in racial discrimination.
“Actually, I do not mind renting to any race and gender as long as they are responsible,” Norman Hadi said.
However, Norman Hadi said he understands that the landlords, especially those renting by rooms, would set such preferences because they are thinking of the comfort of all their tenants. Making them all from the same race and gender allows the tenants to feel safer and get along easier.
Perhaps nothing much can be done by us students now, but the experiences may be a blessing in disguise. To know that racial discriminating renting exists, it will allow us to think twice about doing the same in the future when we become landlords ourselves.
As if searching for an accommodation that suited all your criteria was not hard enough, you sometimes find yourself turned away at the door just because of your skin colour.
Yes, racial discriminating renting exists and the first to be affected are international students.
“A lot of places put up advertisements that read ‘Chinese only’ which I think is unfair,” said School of Communication (SOC) student Luqman Hamsa Abdullah, 28, who is of African American descent.
Luqman said it was not hard for him and his wife to find a place, but getting the owner and agent to trust them was.
“Finding a place to stay was fairly easy for my wife and I. However, the agent would constantly stop by the house to look for damages,” Luqman said.
Former School of Engineering student Khayat Taylor, 26, from Arab, found out that some landlords charge unfair rental fees to foreign tenants.
“A lady I called offered to let me rent her place. But because she sounded sketchy, I asked a Chinese friend of mine to call as well. When he did, he was offered half the price of rent she offered me,” Khayat said.
Racial discrimination happens not only to international students but locals as well.
Coming from Penang, SOC student Joshua Michael Joseph, 22, said he faced racial discrimination too.
“When I first contacted the agents to look at the place, all will be fine because I spoke fluent English. But when I show up, the agent and owner actually went, ‘Oh, you are Indian?’” Joshua said.
Property agent Gigi Wong Zi Wei, said landlords’ choices are usually made based on past experiences with tenants of different races.
“Most start out with no preferences but because they have had bad experiences with particular race groups, they decided to cut their losses and rent to those they want,” Wong said.
Wong added that landlords also believe it is easier to communicate with those of the same race as themselves.
Former American Degree Programme student Natasha Lee Mei Ann, 21, actually found a house that fit her budget and criteria, but it turns out that the landlord does not want to rent to non-Muslims.
“Because the landlord was a devoted Muslim, he preferred to rent to Muslims only as he wanted to keep the house halal. I told him that I am not much of a drinker and I do not eat pork but he still would not budge,” Lee said.
Though it is hard to believe, people of different race and religion can actually stay together.
“I live with an Indian and a Muslim (now),” Lee said. “One does not eat beef and one can only eat halal. It is not hard; we just have a set of dinnerware and cooking utilities that are designated for ourselves.”
For landlord Norman Hadi Marjuki, he does not believe in racial discrimination.
“Actually, I do not mind renting to any race and gender as long as they are responsible,” Norman Hadi said.
However, Norman Hadi said he understands that the landlords, especially those renting by rooms, would set such preferences because they are thinking of the comfort of all their tenants. Making them all from the same race and gender allows the tenants to feel safer and get along easier.
Perhaps nothing much can be done by us students now, but the experiences may be a blessing in disguise. To know that racial discriminating renting exists, it will allow us to think twice about doing the same in the future when we become landlords ourselves.