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Interesting that it took an essay contest to break the tie. Seattle now has an ordinance that they must rent to the first applicant who qualifies. This is to pr

by donarb 6y ago

Interesting that it took an essay contest to break the tie. Seattle now has an ordinance that they must rent to the first applicant who qualifies. This is to prevent discrimination against minorities.

latchkey 6y ago
Yea, I felt like it was kind of weird at the time, but I was also young and cocky and used my privilege to get the place in a highly competitive market. I don't feel good about that later in life. In his defense, I don't think he was discriminating against minorities as much as he was just trying to find a good tenant, in a sea of applications, that wouldn't cause him a lot of headache. One side bit of information is that he had had an accident and had lost part of one arm. He was very apt and that didn't hold him back at all, he was used to challenges.
rayiner 6y ago
> Seattle now has an ordinance that they must rent to the first applicant who qualifies. This is to prevent discrimination against minorities. Isn’t it already illegal to discriminate against minorities in renting housing?
- smnrchrds 6y ago
  Yes. But it is impossible to prove, so the law never gets enforced.
  - rayiner 6y ago
    So Seattle entirely removed the ability of landlords to pick their tenants? Imagine applying that to anything else—must hire the first qualified job applicant, etc.
    - tptacek 6y ago
      I don't know, this kind of makes sense. You've presumably rented apartments before. The process is shady as shit. I've been shaken down by several landlords for prepayments, and intrusively interviewed. It must be much worse for Black renters. And it's how most purchasing works! I go to rent a car, they have to rent me the car if it's available; they can't wait to see if a safer-looking driver is right behind me. Renting an apartment isn't a job interview.
      - xyzzyz 6y ago
        > I go to rent a car, they have to rent me the car if it's available I don’t think they have to rent you anything if they don’t feel like it. They can wait for safer looking driver just fine. It’s just they don’t, because it doesn’t make sense for them from business perspective, but they very much could do that.
        tptacek 6y ago
        And here I think that if Alamo started turning down drivers with reservations at the rental counter on sight, and those drivers were even slightly disproportionately Black, Alamo would be in a world of hurt.
        xyzzyz 6y ago
        If they had no reason to turn down drivers other than their race, sure, but that's because it's illegal (on top of being morally repugnant). They can turn down drivers for other reasons just fine, though, even if they are disproportionately black. For example, I'm told that voter ID laws are wrong, because black people are less likely to have ID (presumably driver's license). Alamo is perfectly able to turn down drivers without driver licenses, even if they are disproportionately black.
        tptacek 6y ago
        My point is that the expectation is so strong that, absent something on your driving record to prevent it, you'll get a rental no matter what you look like as long as you have a reservation (which you'll get sight unseen). That is not true of apartment renting; in fact, I'd argue, it's distinctively untrue of renting. Thus, my rebuttal to Rayiner.
JamesBarney 6y ago
I'd be surprised if this had the intended effect. I'd imagine it'd cause most landlords to increase their qualifications, and bar them from making exceptions to those qualifications.

by donarb 6y ago

latchkey 6y ago

Yea, I felt like it was kind of weird at the time, but I was also young and cocky and used my privilege to get the place in a highly competitive market. I don't feel good about that later in life. In his defense, I don't think he was discriminating against minorities as much as he was just trying to find a good tenant, in a sea of applications, that wouldn't cause him a lot of headache. One side bit of information is that he had had an accident and had lost part of one arm. He was very apt and that didn't hold him back at all, he was used to challenges.

rayiner 6y ago

> Seattle now has an ordinance that they must rent to the first applicant who qualifies. This is to prevent discrimination against minorities. Isn’t it already illegal to discriminate against minorities in renting housing?

smnrchrds 6y ago
Yes. But it is impossible to prove, so the law never gets enforced.
- rayiner 6y ago
  So Seattle entirely removed the ability of landlords to pick their tenants? Imagine applying that to anything else—must hire the first qualified job applicant, etc.
  - tptacek 6y ago
    I don't know, this kind of makes sense. You've presumably rented apartments before. The process is shady as shit. I've been shaken down by several landlords for prepayments, and intrusively interviewed. It must be much worse for Black renters. And it's how most purchasing works! I go to rent a car, they have to rent me the car if it's available; they can't wait to see if a safer-looking driver is right behind me. Renting an apartment isn't a job interview.
    - xyzzyz 6y ago
      > I go to rent a car, they have to rent me the car if it's available I don’t think they have to rent you anything if they don’t feel like it. They can wait for safer looking driver just fine. It’s just they don’t, because it doesn’t make sense for them from business perspective, but they very much could do that.
      - tptacek 6y ago
        And here I think that if Alamo started turning down drivers with reservations at the rental counter on sight, and those drivers were even slightly disproportionately Black, Alamo would be in a world of hurt.
        xyzzyz 6y ago
        If they had no reason to turn down drivers other than their race, sure, but that's because it's illegal (on top of being morally repugnant). They can turn down drivers for other reasons just fine, though, even if they are disproportionately black. For example, I'm told that voter ID laws are wrong, because black people are less likely to have ID (presumably driver's license). Alamo is perfectly able to turn down drivers without driver licenses, even if they are disproportionately black.
        tptacek 6y ago
        My point is that the expectation is so strong that, absent something on your driving record to prevent it, you'll get a rental no matter what you look like as long as you have a reservation (which you'll get sight unseen). That is not true of apartment renting; in fact, I'd argue, it's distinctively untrue of renting. Thus, my rebuttal to Rayiner.

JamesBarney 6y ago

I'd be surprised if this had the intended effect. I'd imagine it'd cause most landlords to increase their qualifications, and bar them from making exceptions to those qualifications.