The Saint
Estate agents deny gender discrimination
Kirsty Boardman
Do estate agents and landlords discriminate against all-male groups? This has been the question posed by many prospective tenants over the past couple of months. However, despite recent speculation, statements from several estate agents would suggest that gender is not a determining factor in the allocation of properties.
A representative from Rollo Davidson said, "Applications are considered on the basis of references." He added, "mixed or all-male and female groups are treated the same."
Pagan Osborne similarly stressed that each application is dealt with on its own merits.
In addition, a search using the criteria female undergraduate on the University of St Andrews Property to let listings webpage renders 126 results. With 114 properties being yielded by a search upon male undergraduate, the difference between the number of female or male group properties on offer appears negligible.
However, several students experiences indicate otherwise. One male undergraduate claimed that his group were unable to hand in their application to one estate agent, on the grounds that one of their (all male) party's guarantor forms was not of the required format. They were instructed to produce another form in order for the application to be considered.
He went on to explain that a group of female undergraduates later produced an application with the same discrepancy to the same estate agent, which was accepted in the understanding that they would fax a copy of the correct form as soon as possible.
Such anecdotes are not uncommon in St Andrews. Another student reported that, despite having allowed an all-male group to view their property, their private landlord said he wouldnt consider an all-male group.
The student added that although this group was granted an interview, the landlord had indicated that there was no chance that they would have been allocated the property.
A more positive attitude was shown by Michael Foote, of Town and Gown Property Letting Services Ltd.
He stressed that he did not discriminate when considering applications, and emphasised the importance of meeting prospective tenants, adding that references are important to us but it is my belief that nothing beats a face to face meeting.
Whilst Pagan Osborne stated that We have not come across clients who specify all female or all male groups for a particular tenancy, Mr Foote explained that in cases where the property owner does display a preference the original reason will be that they have had a bad experience in the past.
As a result, he explained, some landlords feel that girls are more likely to look after the property. Nonetheless, Mr Foote was quick to add that this is not always so.
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