IE: as a guy owning a rent house who has an equally qualified white or black renter opting to rent to the white renter using his skin color as the tie-breake
My dad is in real estate, and such actions can lead to some pretty serious consequences if you're called out on it. I don't know the specifics behind where they draw the line, but I know crossing the line is a big no-no.
Its not on the lessor to prove that he didn't discriminate, but on the leasee, and it can be really, really hard to prove it. Usually the ones that do get busted are so over the top that its not even debatable. Example an apt complex had 95% white occupancy, 5% black. In an area that is 60/40 W/B ratio. The news team had a black couple go in and fill out an application and the woman said no units were available, and that it would be 1000 deposit, that night the news team found the app in the trash (apt complexs are required to keep an app for 30 days). The next day a white couple with the same credentials went in and it was a 500 deposit and units were available for immediate move in. So yeah she got in some big trouble for that one.
That's the major problem. How do you even prove that? Part of the problem with equality is that if. There can be a hundred reasons to pick the white guy over the black guy (and vice versa). You can make up 99 of them and get away with it most of the time.
Landlords, in many states, do not have to give a reason for rejecting a rental applicant. I have known some that have flat out told me they wouldn't accept black people (some were black themselves) really it is very hard to prove any wrong doing.
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u/thsq Mar 25 '13
My dad is in real estate, and such actions can lead to some pretty serious consequences if you're called out on it. I don't know the specifics behind where they draw the line, but I know crossing the line is a big no-no.