Dealing With Illegal Steering In Housing

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Steering is a subtle form of discrimination followed by landlords, real estate agents etc. It limits the housing choices a prospective tenant may normally have if such discriminatory practices were not conducted. A dictionary definition of "steering" is "the discriminatory practice of renting only certain apartments to tenants on account of their race, religion, or other protected characteristic, even though other apartments are available" and "the discriminatory practice by a real estate agent of maneuvering a client from a minority group away from considering a home in a white neighborhood."

It’s already a bit of a damper to find your choices are sorely limited by low turnover and vacancy rates or perhaps due to a rather low supply of apartments in the area of your choice. And facing 'steering' from landlords or brokers is another hurdle you might have to face.

Identifying Illegal Steering

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) fair housing regulations identify four main types of illegal steering practices. It’s a good idea to get to know about steering before you start apartment-hunting. That way, you can identify it much more easily and possibly, can take appropriate action.

Illegal steering occurs when:

1. You are discouraged from renting at an apartment/building

Though things may all seem fine, the landlord or broker might appear to act shifty, giving various reasons why the place supposedly inappropriate for you or casually mentioning only the negatives and happily ignoring the positives of the place. They wouldn't directly say "We don't rent to black people" or "No families/singles allowed" etc.

The reason might be valid too at times. For instance, in case you have a sick person to take care of, you'll naturally want to rent a place close to a hospital or clinic and in a not too polluted environment. If the apartment is near a smoky office/factory or if medical facilities are not too close by or if the neighborhood is a noisy one, the landlord would suggest for your own welfare, that the place wouldn't be appropriate for you.

2. The drawbacks are exaggerated and desirable features of the area are not mentioned

Some landlords may keep stressing the negatives only of the area which may actually just be minor ones or non-existent. This is atypical behavior where the landlord is working hard to prevent you from renting the place rather than trying to get you interested in it.

A similar situation is when even though the negatives aren't really stressed upon, the positives points are hardly mentioned or not mentioned at all. The building might have various amenities such as a gymnasium or may have close proximity and easy access to various public amenities. If a landlord doesn't mention about those positives, it may be that he is either feeling distracted or that you are possibly getting steered.

3. A remark is made that you will not fit in or get along with the other tenants or neighbors

Such a tactic could be summed up as "It's not the building, it's the tenants". The landlord might opine that you would stand out among the other tenants and wouldn't blend it, or get along easily with them. If such a statement is passed, it would be a good idea to ask the landlord/broker to explain what he/she meant, and why they think you wouldn't get along well with the others.

Sometimes, such an opinion is expressed with the best of intentions and at other times is, in a nutshell, a form of steering. You might be looking for some peace and quiet and would have, naturally, mentioned that to the landlord. If the building consists of youngsters who hold parties every night or turn up the volume in their music systems to the loudest possible setting etc., there's nothing wrong if the landlord lets you know that you might not fit it. However, when it comes down to the actual renting part, you are the one who makes the ultimate decision and not the landlord.

Some cases may obviously be a case of illegal steering. If the landlord is heard remarking that the other tenants might be annoyed that you have kids with you, it is a case of illegal steering based on familial status.

4. Only a certain floor or a certain section of the building is open to you for rent

In such a case, the landlord/broker doesn't steer you away from the building, but instead shows you only those parts where people of your same religion, sex, familial status, ethnicity etc. live. This is case of illegal steering based on segregation. It’s a less obvious form of discrimination, but discrimination nonetheless.

For example, assume you're Jewish. The landlord finds there is no vacancy in the Jewish part of the building but available in other parts and simply states there is no vacancy available. This implies the landlord is turning you away on the basis of religion which is religious discrimination.