London letting agents 'refuse black tenants'
By Guy
Lynn and Ed DaveyBBC News, London
Peter
Bolton King, of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said some
practices seen in the programme were "absolutely disgraceful"
Letting
agents in London are prepared to discriminate against would-be tenants on the
grounds of race, a BBC undercover investigation has revealed.
Under
the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal for businesses to refuse to provide a
service based on ethnicity.
But 10
firms told a reporter posing as a landlord they would not let to
African-Caribbean people at his request.
A black
researcher was denied viewings, yet his white counterpart was welcomed.
BBC
London was initially tipped off certain letting agents were willing to
discriminate against African-Caribbean people on behalf of landlords, with the
alleged misdoing rife in parts of west London.
To
expose the practices, a plush three-bedroom flat in north Kensington was
acquired. Letting agents from 10 firms were invited to assess its rental value.
'Sorry,
it's gone'
All 10
were recorded on secret camera saying they would be prepared not to show the
flat to African-Caribbean people - and many detailed how they had done it
before.
The
lettings manager at A to Z Property Services, in Dollis Hill, said: "We
cannot be shown discriminating against a community. But obviously we've got our
ways around that.
An A to
Z estate agent said he would not call back unwanted tenants
"99%
of my landlords don't want Afro-Caribbeans or any troublesome people."
The lettings
manager at National Estate Agents, Willesden, said: "When someone
[African-Caribbean] comes in, we won't advise them of this property.
"Even
if it does get [asked about] we make up an excuse, to be honest with you."
When a
black researcher asked to view the property, the National agent told him:
"I'm sorry, that one's gone."
The
property was still on the market - and a white researcher got offered a
viewing.
The A
to Z agent told the black researcher he would call him to arrange a viewing.
Despite a second inquiry, the agent never got back in touch.
The
agent had previously explained how he could deter unwanted tenants, saying:
"We don't say no there and then. We just don't call them back
(laughter)."
Once
again, the white researcher received an appointment with no fuss.
In their own words
A
selection of comments from other agents willing to discriminate on behalf of a
landlord:
"We
can tell from speaking to them on the phone what their colour is."
"Without
openly advertising that it's no Afro-Caribbeans allowed, we'd obviously
understand that it's not available."
"We're
in this age where people want to be politically correct, but without being
racist, it happens."
"We
can always make an excuse that it's under offer, we are just waiting for
someone's references."
"Any
landlord who is not happy with any nation, we have no problem with that. I'm
not going to see like you are racist."
Figures
shared with the BBC suggest perception of discrimination remains widespread.
A
survey of 750 adults by the Runnymede Trust found 29% of black people seeking
private housing had experienced discrimination - compared to 1% of white
respondents.
Rob Berkeley,
director of Runnymede, said: "It's shocking that in 2013 outright racism
is stopping people from finding a home.
"Many
people think the days of landlords hanging 'No Blacks' signs outside properties
are long gone - but discrimination clearly still exists."
Despite
repeated approaches, National Estate Agents made no comment.
When
confronted in his office, the A to Z Property Services agent said it was
"pointless taking on a property" if the landlord "doesn't
like" the client's ethnicity.
'Nothing
to hide'
He
continued: "We have plenty of Afro-Caribbean clients - I can show you our
files.
"We've
got nothing to hide. We don't discriminate against anybody."
The
investigation comes 45 years after race relations laws banning discrimination
in housing first came in.
The BBC
showed its footage to pop star Tinchy Stryder, who has headlined the Love Music
Hate Racism festival and spoken out against discrimination.
The
rapper, born in Ghana, said: "Did I really just see that? I'm speechless.
They don't feel like they are doing anything wrong, that's the most shocking
thing - the casual aspect of it.
"I've
had places I wanted and they said, 'It's gone'. How do I know it wasn't because
of my background?"
He
added: "It's wrong. It's more than wrong. I didn't think that was still
happening."
After
viewing the BBC's evidence, equality lawyer Arpita Dutt said: "These
individuals know what they're doing and know what they're doing is wrong.
"Equally,
they know how to get round it.
"There's
no defence that 'I did it because somebody told me to' - it's absolutely
unlawful and in this case there was clear discrimination."
Liberal
Democrat Don Foster MP, who was the housing minister between 2012 and 2013,
said: "I was horrified. Discrimination has no place in London, it has no
place in the rest of the country. We've got firm legislation against it.
"What
it will rely on is people who've been the victim of discrimination coming
forward."
But BBC
London has learned that, although 36 people told the Property Ombudsman they
were the victim of racial discrimination in the past three years, not one
single complaint was upheld.
Only
two allegations resulted in a full investigation.
Mr
Foster said existing enforcement was robust and the government was making
membership of industry redress schemes mandatory for letting agents.
Housing
Minister Kris Hopkins called the practices "totally unacceptable and illegal"
and said anyone who felt they had been the victim of racism should come forward
so the authorities could take action.
During
its investigation the BBC spoke to letting agents who condemned the practices
exposed.
Nicola
Humphries, of Maida Vale Properties, said: "I'm appalled by the behaviour
of some agents in the industry.
"There
are some agents who will say anything and do anything to close a deal.
"We
need to change the culture - but like any sales business it's a cut throat
world and maintaining integrity is not easy."
Inside Out London is
broadcast on BBC One at
19:30 BST and nationwide on the iPlayer for
seven days thereafter
“Start Quote
I don't think that it's the
examiners saying 'oh we don't like ethnic minorities' - it doesn't work like
that anymore”
Prof Aneez Esmail
During the six-month review for the
GMC, Prof Esmail analysed data on more than 5,000 candidates who sat the CSA
exam over a two-year period.
He said he could not exclude racial
discrimination as the cause of the findings.
He told BBC One's Breakfast:
"Many of us who do work in this area describe the problem of unconscious
bias.
"So I think that what might be
happening, especially with the white British graduates compared to the ethnic
minority British graduates, is that - without realising it even perhaps - they
may be assessing it in a different way."
"So I don't think that it's
the examiners saying 'oh we don't like ethnic minorities' - it doesn't work
like that anymore," he added.
"It's all this unconscious
stuff that goes on which we need to be aware of."
He said all British doctors,
whether white or from ethnic minorities, had "gone through medical school
and passed all that and so we're not talking about people who aren't as good as
- they're exactly the same".
“Start Quote
We already take comprehensive steps
to ensure that the exam is fair and equitable to all candidates”
Dr Clare Gerada, Royal College of
GPs
He said the test was "a
relatively new technique that's being used and it's bound to improve as time
goes on".
He has made a number of
recommendations to try to combat bias in the exam including having more
examiners and actors who are from ethnic minority backgrounds.
But the RGCP's Dr Clare Gerada said
the review found "no evidence, either through the examiners or through the
actors, or through the process of the examination, of discrimination".
She added that, "in fact, what
it showed was that it was probably preparedness for the exam that was a
factor".
"We already take comprehensive
steps to ensure that the exam is fair and equitable to all candidates,"
she told BBC News.
"This exam is designed for
doctors to practise independently; it is not an exam that has to be passed by
everyone. I think that is a very important issue.
"Of course we cannot be
complacent and we continue to make sure the exam does not have bias built
in."
The review also found that trainee
GPs from abroad were 14 times more likely to fail the CSA exam than white
British doctors.
'Institutional bias' "We also know
that eventually they pass," Dr Gerada said.
"We also know that this is a
culturally specific exam - it stands to reason if you are born and brought up
in this country, within the NHS, that you have an advantage," she added.
"If I go to India and sit an
exam designed for doctors to practise in India, I will be at a
disadvantage."
GP Una Coales, meanwhile, said
that, "because they use predominantly white actors, even the white actors
may not even be aware that they have hidden bias against foreigners".
“Start Quote
We are duty-bound to act where
there is evidence of a problem and his report and recommendations make a powerful
case for action”
GMC
"So if they hear an Indian
dialect, for instance, they might pretend that they don't understand them and
they might subconsciously withhold vital clues," she said.
She said the actors could
"give away the agenda or the concern right away if he happens to like you
or can withhold it for eight minutes of a 10-minute exam".
Organisations representing ethnic
minority doctors have threatened legal action against the RCGP.
Dr Ramesh Mehta, president of the
British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), said:
"Hundreds of doctors' careers have been damaged because they have
repeatedly failed the CSA exam.
"They are facing institutional
bias and are unfairly failing the exam despite extensive training and
knowledge."
BAPIO has been given permission to
launch a judicial review against the RCGP and the GMC over the exam.
The General Medical Council said it
took the findings of the independent review seriously.
"We agree with Prof Esmail
that there is no room for complacency - we want to work with him and all those
involved in this area," chief executive Niall Dickson said.
"We are duty-bound to act
where there is evidence of a problem and his report and recommendations make a
powerful case for action."
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