House to rent.. asian only

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18588612

"To let" advertisements that specify a particular race or religion are visible in newsagents windows in many areas of London. But are they breaking the law?

Today overt racial discrimination is both illegal and socially unacceptable.

But it is now possible to find advertisements seeking tenants for rented accommodation which specify race, or other characteristics, in a way which some experts believe breaks the law.

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Outrageous!

I wonder what the reaction would be to an advert specifying "whites only"... would it be all-out outrage or would it be the same as to these, an "oh that's a bit racist" and then carry on with their lives?

Reply 3

username306617

Original post by dzeh

There are loads of these ads up in our uni library.
I am really tempted to post one saying whites only to see the reaction.

Reply 4

electriic_ink

Original post by AverageExcellence

Outrageous!

Why?

Reply 5

ROYP

'some experts believe breaks the law'

wonder how many experts it took to work that out

Reply 6

tooti

If someone is renting out part of their home then they should be able to choose what criteria their house mate must fit. If they can't advertise it that way then I don't see the problem, they will just interview everyone who responds and reject those who don't fit the criteria.

Edit- Discrimination will just happen later on in the process so banning these type of ads will not have that much of an effect.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

fallenangel

I'm Asian and I for one find that pretty disgusting

There shouldn't be double standards, discrimination is discrimination regardless of who does it.

Reply 8

Ham22

Original post by Popppppy

There are loads of these ads up in our uni library.
I am really tempted to post one saying whites only to see the reaction.

Please do it and report back to us with your findings.

Reply 9

metro2610

What?!

I put this ad in the local paper every week in a vain attempt to pull Asian girls! Bastards stole my idea :unimpressed:

Reply 10

AverageExcellence

Original post by electriic_ink

Why?

Because its racist. You would never ever get away with having the exact situation with 'whites only'. Theres no justifiable excuse for excluding anyone from anything in this free democracy purely for the colour of their skin.

Its a poor argument to use 'culture or religion'. Why dont we just say its some peoples culture to have sex with 9 years olds, as if thats justified.

Reply 11

Alpharius

That's discrimination.

But as it's not "Whites only," it's fine...

Reply 12

umarrehman187

thats normal why would that be wrong to do?

Reply 13

dzeh

Original post by Popppppy

There are loads of these ads up in our uni library.
I am really tempted to post one saying whites only to see the reaction.

That would be awesome :P

Reply 14

FluxD

If these are from private landlords or people looking for room mates then I think they ought be able to do what they want. People might be outraged but it is their property.

Saying that, I try to avoid landlords with Asian names because all my experiences with Asian landlords have been utterly miserable.

Reply 15

Martyn*

I suppose that if this is private accomodation then there might be a case for thinking that them stipulating Asians only may not be much of an issue, since it would be down to personal choice. I think where personal choice is used at least some kind of explanation is in order to clear up any misunderstandings...if there is one, that is.

Reply 16

electriic_ink

Original post by AverageExcellence

Let's suppose you have a house that you only want Asians to live in. How is this going to stop you from getting what you want? All you would have to do is either write the advert in Chinese/Japanese/Korean/etc or reject non-Asian applicants when you meet them face-to-face. All this legislation does is waste everyone's time.

How can we have a free democracy when I can't choose who I want to live in my house?

I have to say, however, I agree with you on principle that landlords *shouldn't* discriminate on race but I don't think banning these adverts will do anything to stop it.

edit: I didn't use the "culture & religion" argument.

Reply 17

Norton1

Personally I'd rather not live with someone who was averse to me being there because of the colour of my skin. In a lot of ways the advert also saves some time as they'd meet you before you moved in and turn you down for not being Asian anyway.

Reply 18

DorianGrayism

Well....I don't have a problem with it, if it is their own private property. I would also extend that to Whites only/Blacks only/etc before everyone claims racism/prejudice and etc.

At the end of the day, they are the ones who are less likely to get tenants by restricting the potential pool of applicants.

I would prefer that they tell me that they are a racist or prejudiced from the outset.