Black people are 36% less likely to receive a positive reply from potential landlords (Picture: Getty)
A shocking new study has revealed white people are 36% more likely to get a positive response when searching for rental homes than black people.
With the help of artificial intelligence, Generation Rent set up two profiles on SpareRoom – the only difference between the two profiles were the name and skin colour of the applicant.
Applicants ‘Zuri’, black, and ‘Lizzie’, white both put their ages as 26, said they worked as professionals and used the biographies: ‘I am looking for a flat or house share’.
After creating the profiles, enquiries were sent out to room postings across the UK, within minutes of each other, but each profile saw drastically different replies.
The study was conducted with the assistance of artificial intelligence (Picture: Getty)
Both Lizzie and Zuri sent this message to one landlord: ‘Hi there, I’m interested in the property, could I arrange a viewing please?’
To Lizzie, the account replied: ‘Hi Lizzie, can you tell me a little about how long you would be looking for the room, do you work local etc. Many thanks.’
In a reply to Zuri minutes later, however, the account said: ‘Hello, sorry it’s just been let.’
In another instance, after being sent the same prompt, a different landlord replied to Lizzie: ‘Good afternoon. Do you work or study? Who is the property for?’
When replying to Zuri, the landlord said: ‘Good afternoon. Sorry we do not know when we can do a viewing at this property. Many thanks.’
Analysis of the adverts and their replies to each account found that the white profile was 36% more likely to receive a positive response than a black one.
The two different fake profiles received very different responses (Picture: Getty)
The study also found that profiles where the user appears to be white are 17% more likely than black profiles to receive any response at all.
Tilly Smith, Campaigns and Partnerships officer for Generation Rent, said: ‘It is extremely concerning to see racism and discrimination at play, preventing People of Colour from accessing safe and secure housing.
‘The lack of homes for minority ethnic renters to move into is not only extremely stressful and distressing when looking for somewhere to move or when facing eviction, but also forces many to have to endure poor conditions in the properties they can get access to.’
SpareRoom said in a statement to Sky: ‘We look into every single report of discrimination we receive and investigate thoroughly – if we find that racial discrimination has occurred we’ll remove the user permanently.’
In sections on other rental sites, tenants are often told they will not be subject to racism or discrimination while searching for property.
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On Zoopla, for instance, the ‘know your rights as a renter’ section says: ‘You have the right not to be discriminated against according to race, gender or disability, for example.’
Smith added: ‘The Renters (Reform) Bill will grant renters in England much-needed security in their homes, which will be extremely beneficial for renters, especially People of Colour.
‘However, until there are enough affordable and social homes for people to live in, biases – whether unconscious or not – will continue to deny people the homes they deserve.’
Renters have continued to face barriers to finding suitable accommodation, as prices continue to skyrocket.
The most expensive postal codes for rental deposits have been revealed – and eight of them are in London.
For instance: Westmisnter’s W1 postcode is costing the average renter £6,659, which is about £5,000 more expensive than the North East.
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A shocking new study has revealed white people are 36% more likely to get a positive response when searching for rental homes than black people.
