Discrimination in Renting Apartments
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| Assignment Type | Term Paper |
|---|---|
| Subject | English (composition, Etc.) |
| Academic Level | Undergraduate |
| Citation Style | N/A |
| Length | 3 pages |
| Word Count | 894 |
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Room for Rent
In an effort to establish whether racial or gender discrimination occurs when renting apartments in Manhattan, New York, we created a test. The results were interesting but to be conclusive they warrant further investigation because the sample we used was limited to ten available apartments. Of these we personally visited two. During one of these visits we went to the apartment separately and independently and in the other we arrived for an appointment together but one later than the other did.
I am a 25 year old Caucasian male and for this project I worked with a Hispanic friend who is 26 years old. Although he has lived in the U.S for 10 years he still has a discernable Puerto Rican accent. For the purposes of this study we attempted to modify our tone and inflection to be as similar as possible. We also as a matter of course dress in a similar casual but tidy style that is reflective of middle to upper middle class income brackets. To balance the sample geographically we contacted 2 apartments from each Manhattan district, including 2 from the Upper East Side, 2 from the Upper West Side, 2 from Upper Manhattan and 2 from Midtown East and finally 2 from Midtown West. We called listings for studio apartments under $1000 per month. Our findings were interesting.
In 6 out of 10 of the calls we made, one almost immediately after the other, the responses to our questions were virtually identical. In 2 of the 10 calls we were both told the apartment was available but we were not both offered a viewing. In 2 of the 10 calls the apartment was empty and available to view and we both accepted an appointment on the same day.
We decided not to follow up on the 6 calls which elicited identical responses even where the apartment was still available. The first follow up we did was to the apartment where I was offered an appointment but my friend wasn’t. In this instance it was interesting to note that I made the phone call enquiry first and was told immediately that the apartment was available and I was offered a viewing that very afternoon. My friend called 10 minutes later and was told that yes the apartment was still available but he was not invited to view the apartment. We decided I would visit that apartment and my friend would join me a few minutes later. That apartment was located on Staten Island.
Upon arrival at the apartment I was greeted by a pleasant middle aged woman. The studio was part of a big house that had been converted to apartments. She showed me up the stairs through the pleasant and well appointed home. She then showed me the features and layout of the studio apartment and explained the rules of the house. At that juncture there was a knock downstairs which coincided perfectly with my explaining that I was actually looking on behalf of a friend who was likely the person knocking. The woman answered the door, ran through the same tour and explanation with my friend and then offered him the apartment. Although we though we might encounter racism here because she did not offer the apartment to view over the phone, that was clearly for another reason and was perhaps because I had called first.
The last apartment we called and then visited separately was located in East Harlem. We both experienced the same conversation and manner while on the phone and made appointments to visit the apartment an hour apart. This time my friend arrived first. He was met by a 30ish year old man of Hispanic descent. This apartment was also tidy and clean but above a store. My friend was shown through the apartment, given all of the details of renting and then politely advised that there were a few others to view the apartment and that the landlord would call by the evening to let my friend know if he had the apartment. I arrived at the appointed time an hour later. Upon arrival I was greeted cheerfully and shown through the apartment. I was advised of the terms of the agreement which included a lower administration fee than my friend had been quoted. I was also offered the apartment on the spot if I wanted it.
That was the first and only incidence that might have been construed as racist. When I asked the landlord why? He replied that he judged me as a good character. He denied this was based upon ethnicity. Despite the neighborhood having a high Hispanic population it is possible the landlord preferred to rent to a Caucasian person. It is also possible that he judged me a better character for different reasons. So in 8 out of 10 calls our results were almost identical and no racism could be construed. In the last of our visits it was possible that race was an issue but not certain.
Although the results of this study suggest that 10% of the time there may be racism in apartment renting it is certainly an inconclusive study because of the small sample. It is fair to say that 90% of the time there was equal treatment given to both my friend and myself from the landlords we called. If these results did prove that 90% of landlords do not lease based on race or gender the result would be pleasing.
In an effort to establish whether racial or gender discrimination occurs when renting apartments in Manhattan, New York, we created a test. The results were interesting but to be conclusive they warrant further investigation because the sample we used was limited to ten available apartments. Of these we personally visited two. During one of these visits we went to the apartment separately and independently and in the other we arrived for an appointment together but one later than the other did.
I am a 25 year old Caucasian male and for this project I worked with a Hispanic friend who is 26 years old. Although he has lived in the U.S for 10 years he still has a discernable Puerto Rican accent. For the purposes of this study we attempted to modify our tone and inflection to be as similar as possible. We also as a matter of course dress in a similar casual but tidy style that is reflective of middle to upper middle class income brackets. To balance the sample geographically we contacted 2 apartments from each Manhattan district, including 2 from the Upper East Side, 2 from the Upper West Side, 2 from Upper Manhattan and 2 from Midtown East and finally 2 from Midtown West. We called listings for studio apartments under $1000 per month. Our findings were interesting.
In 6 out of 10 of the calls we made, one almost immediately after the other, the responses to our questions were virtually identical. In 2 of the 10 calls we were both told the apartment was available but we were not both offered a viewing. In 2 of the 10 calls the apartment was empty and available to view and we both accepted an appointment on the same day.
We decided not to follow up on the 6 calls which elicited identical responses even where the apartment was still available. The first follow up we did was to the apartment where I was offered an appointment but my friend wasn’t. In this instance it was interesting to note that I made the phone call enquiry first and was told immediately that the apartment was available and I was offered a viewing that very afternoon. My friend called 10 minutes later and was told that yes the apartment was still available but he was not invited to view the apartment. We decided I would visit that apartment and my friend would join me a few minutes later. That apartment was located on Staten Island.
Upon arrival at the apartment I was greeted by a pleasant middle aged woman. The studio was part of a big house that had been converted to apartments. She showed me up the stairs through the pleasant and well appointed home. She then showed me the features and layout of the studio apartment and explained the rules of the house. At that juncture there was a knock downstairs which coincided perfectly with my explaining that I was actually looking on behalf of a friend who was likely the person knocking. The woman answered the door, ran through the same tour and explanation with my friend and then offered him the apartment. Although we though we might encounter racism here because she did not offer the apartment to view over the phone, that was clearly for another reason and was perhaps because I had called first.
The last apartment we called and then visited separately was located in East Harlem. We both experienced the same conversation and manner while on the phone and made appointments to visit the apartment an hour apart. This time my friend arrived first. He was met by a 30ish year old man of Hispanic descent. This apartment was also tidy and clean but above a store. My friend was shown through the apartment, given all of the details of renting and then politely advised that there were a few others to view the apartment and that the landlord would call by the evening to let my friend know if he had the apartment. I arrived at the appointed time an hour later. Upon arrival I was greeted cheerfully and shown through the apartment. I was advised of the terms of the agreement which included a lower administration fee than my friend had been quoted. I was also offered the apartment on the spot if I wanted it.
That was the first and only incidence that might have been construed as racist. When I asked the landlord why? He replied that he judged me as a good character. He denied this was based upon ethnicity. Despite the neighborhood having a high Hispanic population it is possible the landlord preferred to rent to a Caucasian person. It is also possible that he judged me a better character for different reasons. So in 8 out of 10 calls our results were almost identical and no racism could be construed. In the last of our visits it was possible that race was an issue but not certain.
Although the results of this study suggest that 10% of the time there may be racism in apartment renting it is certainly an inconclusive study because of the small sample. It is fair to say that 90% of the time there was equal treatment given to both my friend and myself from the landlords we called. If these results did prove that 90% of landlords do not lease based on race or gender the result would be pleasing.