Any advice for renting if a Black student

[TLD1000]

Hi Everyone,  my son is studying for the summer at Redman University and will be finishing August 6.  He has been trying to secure an apartment afterwards to stay about a month.  His first attempt was an apartment that listed as open, but when he inquired about it the man said it was rented.  I am wondering if the prejudice that was prominent a few years ago is still there.  I wanted to tell him that it may be a race issue but he insists that he has not experienced racism there.  I feel that there is going to be a difference when he tries to rent an apartment vs. eating at a restaurant or asking directions.  I have told him to be upfront and ask if he can rent before attempting to pay on Airbnb.  I want to visit him there to see China for myself but if he cannot secure a place we will be forced to pay for a hotel for a month which proves expensive. If anyone has any advice on this I would appreciate it.

[stapler]

Redman? Do you mean Renmin?

 

I have no advice, sorry. But I'm fairly confident your suspicions about racism in China, particularly towards black people, are well founded.

[889]

I also believe your son's suspicions are credible.

Many, if not most, hotels in China offer rooms on monthly rates that are usually very reasonable. As a practical matter -- and I stress this is purely from a practical viewpoint -- your son might find it quicker to arrange a monthly hotel stay rather than search around talking to private landlords.

[eion_padraig]

Yes, racism is a problem. Last time I was looking for an apartment in China the real estate agents were openly (speaking Chinese) discussing my race. According to one of the real estate agents who I called out about it, some landlords wouldn't rent to me if I were black and others would charge me more.

 

He might have an easier time trying to sublet a room with other foreigners who are renting a place near the university. Basically, it takes the landlord out of the equation. I don't live in Beijing, but where I'm at in China there is an English language website where people looking for roommates post things. 

 

Eion

[Adedapo]

Why is racism still entrenched in our society

[889]

"He might have an easier time trying to sublet a room with other foreigners . . ."

But he wants a place where he and his father can stay.

[Flickserve]

Why is racism still entrenched in our society

which society do you live in?

[Lu]

While racism is certainly a problem in China, no doubt also in finding a place to live, it's also not uncommon for rental agents to list apartments that are in fact already rented out, just to get the customer into the door. In that case, the agent will take the prospective renter to look at other apartments.

 

Your son might want to look into renting a room with other foreigners, as suggested, or perhaps two rooms in the same house. If it's at the end of the semester, he might be lucky enough to find two people who are leaving and are happy to have him take over the last month of the lease.

 

I don't have much useful advice, I'm sorry.

[roddy]

If it's just the one instance and your son's instinct is that it's not a race thing, I'd trust that. Wait and see what happens the next five or six times. But it won't surprise me if it's a problem. 

[TLD1000]

Thanks everyone,  Eion do you have the URL for that English website?

[eion_padraig]

I'm afraid I live in Guangzhou down south, so Guangzhou Stuff won't be much help for Beijing.

However, it looks like https://www.thebeijinger.com/ is an equivalent kind of site. There may be another website, but in a quick search I couldn't find anything.

Good luck.

 

Eion

[Lu]

I think City Weekend (the other expat mag) and perhaps That's Beijing also have such ads on their website.

[xuefang]

In Guangzhou it's hard to rent an apartment for a month, most landlords want to rent for a year so it might be a factor in Beijing as well. Unfortunately I do have heard it's been harder for black students to rent apartments here.

[zhouhaochen]

I am not Chinese, but am a very pro China person and have to say stuff like this really makes me feel embarrassed  for China. There is racism towards black people in China and it is quite frankly a disgrace. I dont know which part of town or budget you are looking for, but I have some friends who are looking to rent out flats, so if you want you can ask your son to contact me (andreas@livethelanguage.cn or andreas_ltl on WeChat) and I can try to help.

 

This stuff needs to stop though...

[muyongshi]

Yes, racism is a problem. Last time I was looking for an apartment in China the real estate agents were openly (speaking Chinese) discussing my race. According to one of the real estate agents who I called out about it, some landlords wouldn't rent to me if I were black and others would charge me more.

Really? You do realize they do this to ALL foreigners including Koreans, Japanese and all whites? They talk about our race/skin color/eye color/amount of hair on our bodies/etc and then depending on the person, try to drive up the rate or not rent to us if they don't want the "hassle".

I have seen blacks treated this way even more so, but in my experience it is because the have an extra "curiosity factor" due to be more rare than the ever prevalent "white foreigners".

I agree with Roddy. Real estate agents pull things like this all the time and your son was there and would know best what was going on.

[Deepamar]

I am going to China and I am a Sikh. I am also little worried about this thing as I wear a turban which I have to from religious point of view I really

Don't Have any idea what's gonna happen thehre

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eion_padraig]

@muyongshi, to clarify further the real estate agent said that many landlords would charge blacks more because the blacks would most likely damage the apartment. I don't think that had to do with curiosity. Given how many places I have been shown that had previously been rented to Chinese tenants and the terrible state they were left in I found that notion laughable.

 

I'm sure some landlords don't want to rent to any foreigners because they perceive it as difficult or a hassle. But the conversations I caught continued with several landlords clarifying until they learned my race. It would been another thing if they said, "There is a foreigner who wants to rent your place"... "No, okay, I'll call you again if there is someone else." When they continue to ask for information until they know my race and agree, that's clearly a different situation.

 

So I stand by my interpretation, but good try in attempting to explain away something so blatant.

 

Renting apartments continues to be one of the least enjoyable parts about my time in China. It's a hassle all around really.

 

Admittedly, I sometimes I meet Chinese who are hesitant to deal with foreigners because they are concerned about the "hassle". Many times I've had a cab driver stop for me only to realize that I was a foreigner and try to waive me off, but when they realize I speak Chinese and I can tell them how to drive to a place they decide to take me.

@Deepamar, I don't think you having a turban will be an issue as a religious issue. It's the issue of race/ethnicity that can be an issue. Now, this doesn't mean you will necessarily experience overt racism while you live in China. The challenge is sometimes you'll have issues and it may not be clear if it's a case of racism or not. There are certainly times I've been witness to racism towards Indians in my neighborhood.

[muyongshi]

@muyongshi, to clarify further the real estate agent said that many landlords would charge blacks more because the blacks would most likely damage the apartment. I don't think that had to do with curiosity. Given how many places I have been shown that had previously been rented to Chinese tenants and the terrible state they were left in I found that notion laughable.

I'm sure some landlords don't want to rent to any foreigners because they perceive it as difficult or a hassle. But the conversations I caught continued with several landlords clarifying until they learned my race. It would been another thing if they said, "There is a foreigner who wants to rent your place"... "No, okay, I'll call you again if there is someone else." When they continue to ask for information until they know my race and agree, that's clearly a different situation.

So I stand by my interpretation, but good try in attempting to explain away something so blatant.

Renting apartments continues to be one of the least enjoyable parts about my time in China. It's a hassle all around really.

Admittedly, I sometimes I meet Chinese who are hesitant to deal with foreigners because they are concerned about the "hassle". Many times I've had a cab driver stop for me only to realize that I was a foreigner and try to waive me off, but when they realize I speak Chinese and I can tell them how to drive to a place they decide to take me.

@Deepamar, I don't think you having a turban will be an issue as a religious issue. It's the issue of race/ethnicity that can be an issue. Now, this doesn't mean you will necessarily experience overt racism while you live in China. The challenge is sometimes you'll have issues and it may not be clear if it's a case of racism or not. There are certainly times I've been witness to racism towards Indians in my neighborhood.

I was not speaking to your personal experience. I was speaking to the general attitudes of people here.

[eion_padraig]

In that case, you may not want to use a quotation of the example I was using and then make your claim. It makes it look like your refuting the actual proof for the claim I was making.

 

Eion

[Lu]

I am going to China and I am a Sikh. I am also little worried about this thing as I wear a turban which I have to from religious point of view I really don't Have any idea what's gonna happen there

I agree with others that the turban probably won't be a problem. You'll likely get stared at more than if you wouldn't wear one, but I don't think anyone will treat you badly for wearing it. If you face any discrimination it will be over your ethnicity/nationality. I don't really know how Chinese in general feel about Indians, but I don't think you'll face bad discrimination. (Unless a border issue flares up between India and China, then you might have issues.)