A survey of Portland’s rental housing market found more than one in four prospective renters were illegally discriminated against because of their race, national origin or source of income as they searched for a home.

Using actors posing as prospective renters, nonprofit Fair Housing Council of Oregon tested the conditions renters faced in Portland’s housing market between January 2018 and June 2019. The group conducted 94 tests and found that potential renters received disparate treatment in 26 of the cases based on their race, nationality or income source.

Another 23 cases were deemed inconclusive, and the remaining 45 tests found no apparent discrimination.

The Fair Housing Council presented the report to the city’s fair housing advocacy committee Dec. 12. The Portland Housing Bureau didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The group that conducted the survey said city officials should increase education for consumers, advocates and housing providers and continue to monitor the housing market, potentially carrying out their own tests.

Another audit conducted by the group released last year found about a quarter of Portland landlords that were tested between March 2016 to February 2018 discriminated against immigrant and non-white prospective renters.

“The concern is that community members from diverse backgrounds seeking housing are treated less favorably,” the latest report said. “These same home seekers may have to apply several places before they can find housing. They have trouble accessing the housing of their choice. More than 50 years after the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act, one would hope that this would no longer be happening. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of progress to be made.”

The latest audit found examples of rental agents providing more information about available units to white testers than black testers. White renters also were told of move-in rent discounts and parking specials and contacted for follow up, while black renters weren’t. In some cases where both black and white testers were told about promotions on the same property, white testers were offered bigger discounts, the report said.

Testers who could be perceived to be non-native English speakers were sometimes told by agents to provide identification, while their counterparts were not. Other times, they were told to drive by rental properties and schedule a viewing later, while testers without accents were allowed or encouraged to tour the units immediately.

The survey also found testers with Section 8 vouchers were repeatedly told by rental agents that it wouldn’t be accepted, even if the unit was available. Those testers were quoted significantly higher security deposits than testers without vouchers, told to apply in person rather than online and not informed of promotions that their counterparts were told about.

The nonprofit’s report recommendations included housing providers receiving more training about the process of accepting public housing funds and reviewing their practices and policies to ensure all renters are treated the same.

[Read the report]

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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