Private owners in Fed Hill will not rent to African Americans (Baltimore: for sale, real estate)

[Huckleberry3911948]

sounds like u r working on a law suit. i dont want to encourage this.
it could be that its not about afro americans at all, but his concern about criminals on craigslist.
lots of them use craigslist, and maybe u said or did something to make him concerned.
i want u to know there are some craigslist inquiries i get that give me the creeps. but this does not make me a member of the klan or deserving of a law suit.
when the sheep huddle the wolves think its discrimination.

[KLynch10]

Never send an email on craigslist telling anyone anything about yourself. There are too many scams that do exactly that. Just ask for more info or set up a showing. There's quite a few African Americans on my block, they fit right in... So it's not a neighborhood thing. Maybe it's a bad landlord, who knows, but renting is competitive these days down here, so in the future I would just ask to see places and let them worry about the details later, which at most should be credit and job status.

[ssshhhooo]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

sounds like u r working on a law suit. i dont want to encourage this.
it could be that its not about afro americans at all, but his concern about criminals on craigslist.
lots of them use craigslist, and maybe u said or did something to make him concerned.
i want u to know there are some craigslist inquiries i get that give me the creeps. but this does not make me a member of the klan or deserving of a law suit.
when the sheep huddle the wolves think its discrimination.

He hasn't said anything about filing a lawsuit, but why would you discourage him from filing one? The OP seems to think that he's been on the receiving end of some questionable tenant selection processes, and if an organization experienced in fighting these cases thinks he has a basis to sue, then he has every right to take the legal recourse allowed him by the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

And by the way, it's not up to the landlord to decide whether he's discriminating against people based on race/gender/family status/nationality or deserving of a lawsuit. That's the judge or jury's responsibility.

Discrimination in housing hurts everyone, not just the person who is deprived of a place to live. It distorts housing markets and weakens neighborhoods. On a more abstract level, it perpetuates the cycle of suspicion,fear, and hostility that has brought Baltimore to its current condition.

[davecj]

The only thing a landlord in the city owning 5 or less units can not discriminate against is if the prospective tenant is a homosexual. Anything else, albeit very few would have the gumption to say race was their deciding factor, can be used to screen a tenant.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by davecj

The only thing a landlord in the city owning 5 or less units can not discriminate against is if the prospective tenant is a homosexual. Anything else, albeit very few would have the gumption to say race was their deciding factor, can be used to screen a tenant.

Thanks for the clarification on the recent sexual orientation amendment. Did you mean "can not" be used to screen tenants?

BTW, can the Civil Rights Commission do an informal inquiry, such as request a meeting, with the landlord? You should not have to go to a full-fledged lawsuit to enforce the non-discrimination law.

[mrboltonman]

Originally Posted by davecj

The only thing a landlord in the city owning 5 or less units can not discriminate against is if the prospective tenant is a homosexual. Anything else, albeit very few would have the gumption to say race was their deciding factor, can be used to screen a tenant.

davejc, i heard from a landlord that if you own and live a building with apartments then you can say that you don't feel comfortable with a tenant and deny a lease. Do you know if this is true?

[davecj]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Thanks for the clarification on the recent sexual orientation amendment. Did you mean "can not" be used to screen tenants?

BTW, can the Civil Rights Commission do an informal inquiry, such as request a meeting, with the landlord? You should not have to go to a full-fledged lawsuit to enforce the non-discrimination law.

I did say can not. As far as the other questions, at this small of a scale a landlord can deny for whatever reason they choose, except for sexual preference. Unless a landlord specifically denied a tenant because of their race and this was in writing, they really can just use any reason they would like. They could deny for credit, background, income etc on paper and have their own reasons but that would be hard to prove. If you could prove that your credit or whatever was X amount and was denied base on that yet they rented to other races with an amount less than such, you could make a case.

Frankly though, would you even really want to have that person as a landlord? I would think the hassle wouldn't make it worthwhile.

[Ruler Ra]

Come on now!! The writing is on the wall. They don't want you and they don't like you!! Leave these white folks alone!!!

__________________________________

Originally Posted by j236

I have a question I am not originally from Baltimore. I am African American and have had a difficult time trying to find rentals in Fed Hill, Locust Point and Mount Vernon. Usually these listings or of those of private owners. Some of this listings I have found on craigslist. I will send an email tell the landlord a little about myself and hear NOTHING back!!! To test my theory of racism(because I did not want to jump to conclusions) I will have a white friend or someone with an English name contact the same landlord and get a response back immediately? Is there some secret code I do not know about. Why are private owners in particulary Fed Hill relunctant to rent to African Americans and I have spoken to other African Americans who say they have experienced the same problem and that I would fare better in Charles Village or Bolton Hill? Fed. Hill is convenient as far as work goes and to the Inner harbor which is where I would like to reside. Can these people be reported to HUD? How can I go about proving housing discrimination from private owners. I would appreciate any advice thanks

[Tinawina]

This guy didn't say he told these landlords a lot about himself. He could just have a name that people read as black-sounding (say, Takenisha Jenkins or Jamal Washington) so they don't respond to him.

Boston was notorious for this kind of thing at one point. It does happen so it is possible. But I'm not sure what you can do but keep trying. Tell them your name, where you're coming to work and why you want to live in that area then let it go. You probably don't want to rent from the person who has a problem with your race anyway.

[EdwardA]

Oh it happens. I was a rental agent in NYC and one landlord only wanted "clean" Blacks. I reported he to NYC civil rights folks. Nothin really happened since her buildings were in the Upper West Side and few Blacks could afford it there.

Then there was the Dominican superintendent who said his landlord didn't want blacks. He assumed that since I am Black my client was Black, she was not. I asked him since you are Black where do you live. He said I'm the exception.

Then there was a time I took my white female client to see an apartment uptown in Inwood. She loves it, the super who showed us the apartment really liked her and was sellin it. Well she wanted her husband to see it. So the next day her Puerto Rican husband, I mean this dude was straight from PR could not speak English, comes to see it. The supers demeanor changes completely it was so obvious the wife picked up on it and complained to my manager and threatened to sue. The landlord called her and me to apologize. I think she took it to the city but not sure what happened.

It's sad but that's the reality out there.