An Indian couple and their cousin living in New Zealand have filed a lawsuit with the Human Rights Commission against a rental property owner after their application to secure the property were declined just because they were Indians.
The applicant trio, Rashmi Raorane, her husband Aditya Panikkar and her cousin Siddharth Chaukekar who had come to New Zealand at different times wanted to move in together a new place, but their application was turned down by the owner stating ‘the landlord does not want Indian tenants’.
The prospective tenant has complained to the HRC after allegedly being told she couldn’t rent a house because the owner thinks “all Indians are dirty”.
Rashmi Raorane, a 25-year-old Auckland school teacher, said on Tuesday that she along with her husband and cousin viewed the Pakuranga property earlier this month.
The trio met the property manager, Jane Zhang, at the house and reportedly she was a “really warm, nice lady”.
Rashmi said: “She talked to us for more than 30 minutes; it was just us who had gone for the viewing. She said the owner was looking for a professional working couple. She assured us there won’t be any problem.”
But later that evening, Zhang called her to say the owner had decided the group couldn’t rent the property because of their ethnicity.
“She said, ‘I’m sorry, we won’t be able to rent the property to you. It’s because you’re Indians. The landlord had Indian tenants before and they kept the house really dirty so they think all Indians are dirty”.
Rashmi lodged a complaint with a hope that it would draw attention to the discrimination faced by immigrants searching for rentals in Auckland.
“I think she shouldn’t have said it, but honestly I don’t think it was her fault. She was trying to be nice and honest with me. I don’t think she even realized how inappropriate it was.
“Immigrants living here, I think they’ve gotten used to the fact that it happens.”
As per Government agency Tenancy Services, it is against the law to choose tenants based on their race, ethnicity, color, nationality, origin or citizenship.
Jennifer Skyes, Information and education manager for housing and tenancy services from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment said that discrimination is unlawful under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) as it is a violation of the Human Rights Act.
