Indians face the most bias when renting

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, November 18, 2003

WASHINGTON — American Indians are more likely than any other minority group to face discrimination when trying to rent homes, a government-sponsored study concluded.

American Indian renters were discriminated against about 29 percent of the time last year, according to the study conducted for the Housing and Urban Development Department by the Urban Institute, a private Washington-based think tank.

It was the first time HUD had commissioned research on discrimination against American Indians. Findings were based on testing conducted off tribal lands in three states with relatively high populations of that group, New Mexico, Montana and Minnesota.

Data previously released by HUD found that Hispanic renters were discriminated against 26 percent of the time, while rates were less for blacks (22 percent) and Asians (21 percent). That research was also based on tests conducted in areas that had large populations of the specific group.

Indians were more likely than other minorities to experience more severe forms of discrimination, such as being lied to by a building manager that an available apartment was taken, Margery Austin Turner, the study’s lead researcher, said Tuesday.

By comparison, Turner said other minorities were more likely to be exposed to more subtle discrimination, such as being charged higher rents or application fees.

Copyright ©2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.