Rabat – The Barcelona City Council has ordered a 45,000 euros (MAD 474,075) fine, to be paid by the owners of an apartment and a real estate agency, for refusing to accept Moroccans as tenants.
The City Council described the act as “direct discrimination in access to housing on the basis of origin,” and became the first municipal government in Spain to fine such discrimination.
The City Council concluded that the owner of an apartment in Barcelona and the company that marketed it should be fined 45,000 euros for refusing to rent the apartment to Redouane Mehdi, a computer engineer of Moroccan origin.
Mehdi was looking for a rental property in the Catalan capital, and located a property online that suited his requirements. He expressed interest in renting the property after visiting it and acknowledged having sufficient solvency to do so.
Mehdi spoke to spanish newspaper El Pais, recalling his unfortunate experience. The engineer said that “Most of the time with real estate agencies you don’t get past the phone. The first question they ask upon hearing my name is where I’m from.”
Despite having a stable, well paying job, and being able to afford the property in question, Mehdi was obliged to bring his Spanish friend with him to visit the apartment.
Mehdi explained that after expressing an interest in renting the apartment, “the real estate company stopped answering the phone and told me that they had rented it to someone else.” After several weeks, he discovered that the apartment was still listed on the same website as available for rent.
Redouane Mehdi had provided the company with all the necessary documents proving his financial stability, solvency and status within Spain: three pay slips, permanent contract, seniority and an explanation of his occupation.
Mehdi then asked for help from a friend “with a European name,” who visited the real estate agent and expressed interest in the same apartment.
It was visited by a friend who proved the same level of solvency. The real estate agent was willing to rent the apartment to the friend immediately, demonstrating that Mehdi’s rejection wasn’t a problem with his solvency or the apartment’s availability.
Mehdi reported the incident to the Office for Non-Discrimination (OND). The case was studied by the Discipline and Anti-Harassment Unit of the Municipal Institute of Housing and Rehabilitation (IMHAB), which carried out the entire administrative process of the sanctioning file.
Throughout the proceedings, the co-owners of the property (three individuals) and the real estate company presented allegations that were dismissed by the Discipline and Anti-Harassment Unit.
Marc Serra, councilman for citizens’ rights, maintains: “The objective is not to fine but to transform reality. This case should make an impact and should be a warning to housing operators-owners and real estate agents alike- to avoid racial discrimination in housing.”
According to City Council proceedings, this is the second instance of discrimination in access to housing due to ethnic origin.
The first case related to a discriminatory advert, that stated the property in question was exclusively available to “Spanish people.”
According to El Pais, the OND has opened around 13 investigations during the first quarter of 2021 alone. A substantiale increase in relevant discrimination complaints in the past few years.
The Barcelona City Council commissioned a study that had 1,000 applications sent to 500 real estate portal ads.
Half of the applicants received Arabic names, while the other half received Catalan or Castilian names.
The applicants with Arabic names received fewer responses, compared to applicants with Spanish names, showing a 20% difference.
When it came to the number of visiting appointments allowed by the agencies, Arabic applicants received just one appointment for every two appointments granted to Spanish applicants.
SOS Racismo, an autonomous federation dedicated to fighting different forms of racism in Spain, documented discrimination in access to housing in the country as well.
The federation carried out a study on 462 agencies in eight autonomous communities: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturie, Catalogna, Galicia, Madrid, Navarra and the Basque Country. Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, South America, and Spaniards took part.
“The results were clear: 86.7 percent of those who were refused rentals had a migrant background,” said SOS Racismo’s national spokesman, Mikel Mazkiaran. “Differences were seen in the treatment received, as well as the requirements for renting, such as salary, endorsements, contracts, and so on,” he added.
Although housing discrimination is frequent in the Spanish housing market, local authorities acknowledge that they have a difficult time prosecuting it.
It is very rare that a written or registered record of this type of behavior is available. Most victims normalize discrimination due to lack of evidence, which is the main reason there are no prosecutions.
