Human Rights Commission hears reports of rental discrimination
Discrimination renters on public assistance in Saskatoon face has a human cost, says a new report released by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
“Access and Equality for Renters in Receipt of Public Assistance: A Report to Stakeholders,” released Wednesday, lists issues raised by people seeking rental accommodations in Saskatoon, and by agencies working in the community.
Renters told the commission that high rent costs and low social assistance payments have forced them to accept inadequate housing. The commission found the situation is “acute” for people who are “susceptible to multiple grounds for discrimination.”
In a Friday interview with The StarPhoenix Postmedia, Human Rights commissioner David Arnot said the report notes that family status, race, gender and disabilities all factor into housing discrimination. “Intersectionality connotes that there is a cumulative effect in discrimination,” he said. “If an individual has a family status issue, a race issue, a gender issue or disability issue, they’re much more likely to be negatively affected because the negative effect multiplies.”
The report says social service providers and renters who spoke to the human rights commission viewed landlords as less likely to rent to Indigenous applicants and people with mental health problems and addictions. The commission heard that “racialized” renters have been told they weren’t allowed to drink in their apartments or have family members visit.
The report found “very limited independent housing ” for people with physical disabilities, and that most of the accessible units available in the city are offered by the Saskatoon Housing Authority.
It cites the experience of a woman with an adult son who has autism and their “failed attempts” find suitable housing. The woman, when asked by landlords about her source of income, said she takes care of her son and does not work outside her home.
“She added they ask if he is aggressive or destructive and she responds, honestly, that he has been in the past, so they are hesitant to rent to her,” the report stated.
It looked into concerns raised by Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City Inc. (CLASSIC) and Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) about systemic discrimination and barriers faced by people receiving public assistance in 2015. Those groups presented the SHRC with online ads posted by landlords specifying that they were seeking renters who are not on social assistance and are working.
Arnot described it as a menu of the concerns people presented to the commission. He said it isn’t about finger pointing or shaming, but about issues that need solutions. The commission sees itself as playing the role of a facilitator in discussions between community groups, agencies and governments to come up with solutions, and wants to gather a committee of stakeholders by the end of next month, Arnot said.
He feels there is some “transferability” in what was found in Saskatoon to other communities in the province, Arnot added.