'Must be Caucasian': Racist room-for-rent ad shows discrimination many face looking for housing

An online ad for a room to rent in St. John's that states applicants must be white is a particularly egregious example of the housing discrimination many people face all the time, says the executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission.

The racist ad, which has now been removed by Kijiji, contains a list of conditions for applicants to rent the room, including "Must be Caucasian."

Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission executive director Carey Majid says her group regularly receives complaints from racialized and Indigenous people experiencing housing discrimination. She said international students looking for a place to live while at university are often subject to less obvious discrimination.

"Somebody phones or shows up [with] a foreign-sounding name or visibly presents differently, and all of a sudden the apartment is not available," she said. "They have a friend who will call and all of a sudden the apartment is available."

The person who posted the ad declined an interview request but, in a series of messages to a CBC producer, said people of different races and ethnicities shouldn't mix.  

The "Must be Caucasian" stipulation, he said, "is meant to not waste the time of people that I will not rent to."

Majid said anyone who feels they've been discriminated against can contact the commission for advice, even if they aren't necessarily going to pursue a formal complaint. Students can also look for support from their educational institution.

"We must question what system of education or socialization has led this individual to be so empowered and confident as to publicly make a discriminatory posting. Then we must also question how many other house owners do this without explicitly saying so," Black Lives Matter NL said in an Instagram post about the ad, which prompted outrage when it surfaced on social media.

In an interview with CBC News, Kijiji spokesperson Kent Sikstrom said the company investigated and removed the ad after it was flagged by online users.

"We had flags, we had written comments and complaints from the community, and as soon as this ad was brought to our attention we took it down immediately," he said.

He said Kijiji has a policy stipulating that all ads conform with human rights legislation across Canada and in local regions.

He said the company sent an "educational message" to the user, and will closely monitor the user and ban them if they post another discriminatory ad.

"In this particular case it was very clear, unequivocally, this ad needed to come down. It was discriminatory; there was no hesitation about that."

Sikstrom said Kijiji has filters and algorithms in place to block discriminatory ads, as well as a customer support team to monitor content but the ad still got through.

"I can fully admit this on our end, this really was a filter issue where our filters should have detected this ad automatically, but for whatever reason, it didn't. So right now we're investigating why exactly that occurred and, of course, we're going to make the adjustments needed to refine it."

He said the company has shared the ad with its customer support team and will be adjusting its filters and algorithms to prevent the situation from happening again.

A loophole for discrimination

Although the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Act protects tenants from discrimination while renting a self-contained apartment, Majid said it contains a loophole that allows landlords to discriminate when renting a room in a shared dwelling.

"The unintentional consequences of that are, you know, what's happening right here," she said.

Landlords are not allowed to advertise the discrimination — meaning that this ad is still illegal under the act — but the discrimination itself falls under a "historical" exemption, Majid said.

She said the commission welcomes feedback about its process and the act, but legislative changes to the act itself are the responsibility of the Department of Justice and Public Safety.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, the Department of Justice said when it comes to rental properties no person, or class of persons, shall be discriminated or harassed on the basis of one or more of the prohibited grounds of discrimination.

"The act covers any house, apartment or other similar place of residence that is intended or designed to be used as separate accommodation for sleeping and eating," the statement reads.

"There are also exceptions built into the act. If the landlord is renting a bedroom within their own private residence (i.e. the tenant and the landlord share eating and common areas), then the act does not apply. However, if the tenant is renting a separate unit within the residence (i.e. the tenant has their own eating and living areas), then the act does apply."

The department said it encourages landlords and tenants to ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and duties under the Human Rights Act and the Residential Tenancies Act of 2000.

Those who believe they have been discriminated against should file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, reads the statement.

"Individuals who bring forward complaints of discrimination to the Residential Tenancies Office will be referred to the Human Rights Commission."

Majid said the incident is an opportunity to show people, particularly landlords, the harm caused by discriminatory housing policies. The Human Rights Commission has resources for both tenants and landlords on its website.

She said it's a good idea for landlords to check with the commission before posting an ad to make sure they aren't discriminating unintentionally.

"It's shocking, obviously, for people to see that sort of stuff online," she said. "It's good to hear that people are taken aback. It's good to educate other landlords by having this conversation."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

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