Men are seen as messier and louder tenants that are more likely to cause damage to the property.
Two in five (38%) students feel they have been discriminated against by landlords due to their gender, ethnicity and/or religious beliefs, StudentTenant research has found.
Gender discrimination was raised by one in five (21%), most commonly by men who are seen as messier and louder tenants that are more likely to cause damage to the property.
Ethnicity was cited by one in four, as one student from the Middle East saw his landlord nearly treble his rent from the advertised price once he found out where he was from.
Danielle Cullen, managing director of StudentTenant.com, said: “During my time at StudentTenant.com I have been continuously surprised at the outlandish requests from landlords, and outright discrimination students face when looking for a house.
“It’s incredibly alarming to see how many students have had a difficult time due to their sexuality, race or religious beliefs. Stereotypes shouldn’t dictate how a student tenant is expected to act, or whether they’re going to be a good or bad tenant for a landlord.
“Landlords shouldn’t have the power to turn away tenants based on their sex. What’s to say that a male tenant would be messier, louder or a worse tenant than a female one?”
One in 10 (8%) said they have fallen victim to religious discrimination, while one in five (22%) reckoned they have been refused a student property by a landlord due to their sex, race or religion.
Cullen added: “I think a lot of the problem here is a landlord’s awareness of actually what they can and can’t do. The attitude we face is very much ‘it’s my house, I can let it to who I want’ and it’s very sad to see the trouble and anguish some of these students are facing.
“That’s not to say that all landlords are the same, many are very accommodating and kind, but these types of issues need to be identified, and understood as wrong.”
