Black woman charged more rent than her white neighbours for smaller property

A Black tenant has accused a housing association of racial discrimination after discovering that she’s been paying more rent than her white neighbours for a smaller property.

During an impromptu conversation regarding housing repairs in July, Louise Dingwall, 27, was shocked to learn that she was being charged more rent for her two-bedroom property than her neighbours were for their three-bedroom house.

Ms Dingwall, who’s the only Black tenant to reside in the Worcester-based housing complex, currently pays a weekly rate of £110 compared with her neighbour’s £101. She then discovered another neighbour is paying just under £89 a week for a two-bedroom property.

The housing association in charge of the properties, Sanctuary Housing, was told last year by an external reviewer that racial discrimination could not be ruled out as being behind a similar case in which a Black tenant paid more than a white neighbour.

“I’m absolutely disgusted; if I knew this when I moved in nine years ago, I would’ve addressed the issue then,” Ms Dingwall, a nurse, told The Independent.

The housing group have denied racial discrimination has played any part in this current case, but the Race Equality Foundation said Ms Dingwall’s experience was an example of racial inequalities remaining “rife” in the housing sector.

“I think that a lot more cases, whereby Black people being charged increased rent than their white counterparts, may be taking place across Britain and particularly in white-dominated areas that we don’t know about. I moved to Worcester from Birmingham for personal circumstances and I feel like I’m being targeted, I really do.”

At first, Ms Dingwall wondered whether she was “unlucky” and paranoid for questioning whether she was being racially discriminated against, but she says her questions about the matter went unanswered following official complaints, and the tenant began to suspect that more sinister factors could be at play.

“It is difficult for me to believe that racism isn’t the reason for this disparity,” she said.

“Sanctuary has told me that I’m on a different tenancy agreement to my neighbours which means I am bound to pay higher costs. It appears that I’m the only person in my cul-de-sac, of about 20 people, who is on this tenancy and the only one who’s Black.

“I want my rent to be recalculated and compensation.”

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The tenant then discovered the case of Selma Nicholls during a Google search – a Sanctuary Housing resident who was also charged more rent than her white neighbour over a period of three years.

That story sparked an external investigation in which reviewers were “unable to provide assurance that race discrimination did not play a role in the decisions” that resulted in the disparity.

Meanwhile, Ms Dingwall says her property has been in disrepair for almost nine years despite complaints to Sanctuary asking them to fix the issue, which has left her “fuming,” along with the rent disparities.

The property is “unbearably” cold due to faulty windows that is affecting the health of her one-year-old son, who lives with sickle cell disease.

And her 9-year-old daughter’s room has mould growing in it which threatens to cause breathing difficulties, she said.

“Meanwhile, a white neighbour who lives with a serious health condition has had their windows changed to accommodate their needs. Why have I had to get a solicitor involved to fight for my son’s needs?” Ms Dingwall said.

“It would appear that Black lives don’t matter; I’ve reached out to an MP and local councillor, about this rent disparity and ongoing delays with the repairs, but haven’t received any help.”

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Speaking to The Independent, a spokesperson from Sanctuary Housing acknowledged the disparity but said it is the result of government-determined rent policy which affects tenants who have “affordable rent” agreements, like Ms Dingwall’s, and rejected accusations of race-based discrimination.

“We strongly refute the allegations that there was any link to race in the setting of the rent,” they said.

“The rent was set in accordance with government-determined rent policy on the property itself, before it was advertised with the local authority who nominated Ms Dingwall to be our tenant.

“We have apologised to Ms Dingwall regarding the work required to her home and appreciate why her personal circumstances would make this even more stressful. We are committed to repairing her home.”

This comes after The Independent revealed that Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are more likely to face unaffordable housing costs because of poverty, the benefit cap, immigration policies such as “No Recourse To Public Funds” (NRPF) and racism in the labour market.

A spokesperson for Black Lives Matter said that Ms Dingwall’s case is “just another confirmation of how entrenched institutional racism in housing is”.

When the disparity only appeared to be affecting a Black resident, it was hard to see it as “administrative”, they added. “There are already far more Black families than any other living in a home with a category one hazard under the housing, health and safety rating system, this case just adds to the number.

“With the Grenfell Tower tragedy not far behind us, it is clear that the low value placed on the lives of Black people in this country remains a fundamental problem.

“This is not a new phenomenon; evidence of disparity in housing along racial lines dating back to the 1960s is available, corroborated by the recent doubling of the rate of homelessness among the Black population.”

They added: “With a sick child condemned to suffer because of the poor habitable conditions in the house, the lack of urgency by Sanctuary only confirms the value placed on the lives of Black people, including children.”

Jabeer Butt OBE, CEO of the Race Equality Foundation, told The Independent: “Racial inequalities in the housing sector remain rife. Black, Asian and minority ethnic households are both more likely to be living in the private rented sector and to be living in comparatively poorer housing. This in turn has a range of health impacts which can cause a ripple effect throughout people’s lives.

“We also need to question whether rents are actually affordable and pay close attention to which communities are essentially being priced out of a safe and comfortable home.

“Measures taken by the government to address the current housing crisis need to explain how they will advance racial equality rather than make it worse.”