On Wednesday, July 28, 2004, at 09:42 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
As a renter I never paid an application fee for a background check without
also signing a lease agreement.
If a landlord wants you to pay an application fee, but doesn't want to sign a
lease agreement based on the information you provide on the application form,
it is quite reasonable to suspect that the landlord has no intention of being
your landlord and is merely picking your pocket. If a wannabe renter reports
sufficient income and otherwise meets the criteria, why not rent to them on
the spot?
So many of the people I work with -- clients, students, other members of the Indian community, have been repeatedly discriminated against. The only conclusion I can draw is that these experiences are in large part based on status and class. They are denied rentals, pay fee after fee with no result, and lack sufficient representation to assure less discrimination.
Some people, like Doug Mann, have different experiences. That's fine.
But the problem does not get fixed based on the anecdotal observations of a number of people.
Landlords come in all types of personality and deviations of mental health. Tenants do too. It is only through appropriately applied regulation and community norms and expectations that more people find the housing they need and landlords have reasonable expectations of financial return on their investments.
Tip either side of the balance and bad things happen. We have to deal with discrimination against people who because of their racial background or economic status are vulnerable to landlords who want to express their social views through their business dealings. These people have to fear consequences or be able to respect order in society. Otherwise, discrimination just goes on and on.
Yes, there are destructive tenants. Yes, there are people who skip out on the rent or do any number of horrible things in their rented space.
But that is not sufficient reason to discriminate against all potential tenants who the landlord eyeballs as not deserving of living in her/his property.
I think we can all make a good start by expecting landlords to do a better job of reducing the discrimination complaints and perceptions. They hold the key to the rental space. They have to behave better in this city. We expect them to.
So look around the kindergarten classes this fall. Who are the potential landlords? Don't know? Then teach peace and tolerance to everyone. It works.
Best,
Laura Wittstock Southeast With grandkids in Marcy School where peace abounds
Laura Waterman Wittstock MIGIZI Communications, Inc. 3123 East Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55406 612.721.6631 ext 219 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.migizi.org http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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