86% of Barcelona real estate agencies discriminate against immigrants
Around 20% say that discrimination cannot be publicly stated when advertising a flat
Immigrants face further discrimination when trying to rent an apartment in Barcelona. A city council survey published on Thursday reveals that 62% of real estate agencies have no qualms with explicitly discriminating potential tenants on the basis of their origin.
Pollsters called 350 real state agencies pretending to be landlords in search of tenants. They expressed one condition: not renting their flat to an immigrant.
The vast majority, 62% accepted this, while 24% of them carried out practices indirectly discriminating immigrants, and only 10% of those questioned rejected the petition outright. 4% did not answer the request.
The survey found that this is a common practice as 19.4% of the agencies spontaneously argued that they cannot publicly state this when advertising a flat.
The outcome has been shared with Real Estate Administrators Association and other official authorities as well as Barcelona’s Office for Non-Discrimination.
Significant stereotypes and prejudices
Pollsters used the term “immigrants” without providing any additional information on ethnic origin, religion, or social class.
The results highlight the fact that discrimination was mainly focused against immigrants, as there was a clear difference in responses to the terms "immigrants" and "foreigners."