Post-Racial Seattle? Not Yet

Racial discrimination in housing has been illegal in the United States for over 40 years. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 makes it a crime to discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin in all housing-related transactions.  But a recent study conducted by the Seattle Office of Civil Rights demonstrates that housing discrimination is far from dead.  In over 70% of tests, African-American applicants for housing were discriminated against.  Thirty-six percent of the time, people with disabilities also faced barriers.

The study relied on testers.  A housing tester has no intent to rent an apartment, but poses as a prospective tenant in order to gather information about the landlord’s practices.  Researchers send out pairs of similar testers: the testers have similar income, rental and employment history, and demeanor.  The only difference is that one of the pair is a member of a group against whom it is illegal to discriminate.  For example, one person is black, the other white.  One person has a disability, the other does not.  Testers then compare the differences in experience with the same landlord.

The Office of Civil Rights discovered that in most cases, African Americans were treated differently than white applicants for housing. Some of those forms of discrimination are age-old – many landlords quoted higher rent to African Americans and didn’t tell them about move-in specials.  But some forms of discrimination are newer.  For example, the Office of Civil Rights discovered that landlords required African Americans to submit credit and criminal background checks, but did not require the same tests for Caucasian applicants.

People of color are over-represented in the criminal justice system, and landlords should not use criminal records checks in a discriminatory fashion.  I have a two-year fellowship to assist people with criminal records who are being denied housing and employment.  If you or someone you know has been refused housing on the basis of a criminal record unrelated to being a good tenant, or if you’ve been forced to submit to a background check solely on the basis of your race, the ACLU of Washington would like to hear from you.