a woman's request for help regarding some troubles she'd had finding an
apartment for herself and 2 kids:
I'm searching for a new place to live for myself and my two girls, but
I'm starting to get the distinct impression that landlords are less
than thrilled about my children. (One woman told me over the phone
that I wasn't a good candidate because I was a single mom and she
didn't think I was going to pay the rent. How she decided that without
any knowledge of my income or expenses was beyond me.)
Are there any renters on the list? Has anyone encountered problems
with trying to move the family into a new place? Any suggestions?
I offered the following advice:
As a realtor and landlord I know it is illegal to discriminate on the
basis of familial status. On the other hand, some people (landlords) do
discriminate. I would suggest that a couple of things impress
landlords:
1) most kids are relatively well behaved, meet the landlord at the
property along w/ your kids (when the are well rested and well fed &
happy) and show her/him that they are well behaved and they are not
screaming banshies.
2) getting the appointment to see the apartment does not require you to
say that you have two kids.
3) references from former landlords go a long way, as do credit reports
and employment references. on the other hand, fiends, relatives, the
fact that you go to church, or sob stories, etc. do not.
4) finally, presentation, matters a lot: speaking well, making sure
your kids are not crying in the background when you are on the phone,
nice appearance and clean car etc, mean a lot to a landlord. Think
about it, if you care for your car and yourself, there is a hope that
you will care for the landlords property. If you don't, the landlord
won't rent to you.
I'm not a big fan of the tenants union, they are reactionary and a
negative force in this city. I'd point you to the SF Rent board before I
went to the TU. I would also point you in the direction of the california
apartment association, which has a "renters" section on their website
(caanet.org) or the SF apartment association. I don't know if they have
a list of landlords that have availabilities, but their members are the
most educated about the law and proactive about doing business in a
fair way, so they are the landlords that I would want to rent from.
I'll just offer this last bit of advice: you don't want to rent to
someone who is going to discriminate against you on the basis that you
have kids. Those people are not good landlords anyhow.
best of luck
Another list member replied to my post this way:
As a realtor and a landlord, of course Michael Sundius is "not a big
fan of the tenants union." In a city where housing is so expensive
and homelessness (including for working families) so extensive, for a
landlord to call the tenants union "reactionary" and "a negative
force" is as predictable as it is ludicrous. For anyone who cannot
afford to own their own home in the city and who must therefore rent,
the tenants union is the best source of information and support
available. I say this as a rentor who has lived and rented in San
Francisco for 23 years, with impeccable references from a number of
landlords, and as a Certified Law Student currently working on a
landlord/tenant case.
Michael's suggested response to illegal discrimination is not to
oppose the discrimination but to avoid dealing with those people. If
the civil rights movement had followed that advice Black people would
still be sitting in the back of the bus.
And poof.. we have ourselves the age old disagreement. I'll add the
rest as comments for readability. Please I'd love to hear your thoughts
about this and the opportunity to air mine in as well.
