Black people more likely to be blocked from renting homes than white people

Black people are disproportionately more likely to struggle to rent a home than white people, a survey has found.

Data from Shelter found black people in the private rental market were more likely to report being turned down by a landlord or letting agent.

The housing charity’s chief executive, Polly Neate, described the findings as “shameful”, adding that this sort of “racial inequality” should not “continue to thrive in the private rented sector”.

A former letting agent who worked for a prominent national chain told i that she was “horrified” by the attitudes of landlords and some of her colleagues.

Shelter commissioned a survey of 4,023 adult private renters in England, conducted by YouGov in August to September 2023 and weighted to be representative of private renters.

One in 10 respondents who identified as black said they have not been able to rent a home at some point in the last five years (since 2018) due to their race.

None of the white renters surveyed reported feeling that they were declined for a property because of their race.

The survey also found that black renters are four times more likely to have been asked to pay six months’ rent (or more) in advance than white people.

Ten per cent of black renters with families said they had been declined a home and told it was because the landlord had a ‘no children policy’, compared to 3 per cent of white renters with families.

Black renters (12 per cent) were also more than twice as likely as white renters to be told they had failed an affordability check by a landlord or letting agent, Shelter said.

The research suggests black renters could be being subjected to racial discrimination which is illegal under the UK’s inequalities laws in the same way as discriminating against renters who rely on benefits to pay their rent or who have children.

The former lettings agent said: “There was regularly discrimination against people on benefits like, ‘Don’t put them through,’ and lots of racial discrimination from landlords who would openly say they didn’t want to rent their homes to people from certain backgrounds. There were no processes in place to deal with this whatsoever.”

Shelter said its helpline advisers were “deeply concerned by the disproportionate number of black renters who report being shut out of private renting”.

The charity added that “unscrupulous landlords” were exploiting “gaps in regulation to force people to jump through ridiculous hoops, with unfair ‘no child’ policies, affordability checks and demands for rent in advance leaving many Black renters facing the very real threat of homelessness”.

Generation Rent, a group that campaigns nationally for the rights of private renters, told i that they are also concerned about racial discrimination in the private rented sector.

Chief executive Ben Twomey said: “Our research has shown significant discrimination faced by minority ethnic private renters and renters who claim benefits.”

The group said it had anecdotal evidence of people being treated “negatively” by landlords and letting agents because of their race, as well as renters from minority ethnic backgrounds being “disproportionately and unnecessarily scrutinised and criticised”.

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Chris Norris, head of policy and campaigns at the National Residential Landlords’ Association (NLRA), said: “There is no place for illegal discrimination in the private rented sector.

“An individual’s race, gender, orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic must never play a part in a landlord or letting agent’s decision about letting a property.”

The Government is currently trying to pass its landmark Renters’ Reform Bill, which would make it unlawful for landlords and agents to refuse to rent properties to people who receive benefits or have children.

Ministers also want to extend councils’ powers to fine landlords and agents who discriminate up to £5,000 as a “deterrent”.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: “As part of our Long-Term Plan for Housing we are improving housing standards across the entire private rented sector, while also ending discrimination against vulnerable people and families who are being unfairly denied access to a home.”

Ms Neate added that “decades of failure to enact rental reform” had “left private renters with limited protections, while landlords and letting agents can unlawfully discriminate against people of colour who feel powerless to challenge them”.

“To outlaw some of the practices that allow this discrimination to go unchallenged, the Government must get on with the job of making the Renters’ (Reform) Bill law. They must also tackle barriers to renting such as demanding extortionate sums in advance and high-earning guarantors to stamp out racism and make renting safer and fairer.”