'No Indians No PRCs': Rental discrimination in Singapore

[mota bhai 2,675]

By Helier Cheung

BBC News, Singapore

When Sunil first moved to Singapore, he had trouble finding an apartment.

...

"Things would start out OK, maybe because of my [Western] accent - but the moment they heard my name, they'd blank out. Many said 'sorry, we don't rent to these people', or 'sorry, no room for Indians'."

...

Sunil is not alone. A quick glance at online rental listings shows many that include the words: "no Indians, no PRCs [People's Republic of China]", sometimes followed by the word "sorry".

A count on 24 April found that there were more than 160 housing adverts on the website PropertyGuru that clearly stated that the landlord did not wish to rent to Indians and/or mainland Chinese.

...

One Indian expat said his agent told him that many landlords would refuse to rent to him because "Indians always cook smelly curries". Another Briton of South Asian descent did not experience any direct discrimination, but was warned by his agent that some landlords could be difficult.

It was something I experienced too, albeit indirectly. When I searched for a flat, my housing agent received a phone call from one landlord who was worried that I was from mainland China, presumably after they learned about my Chinese ethnicity.

...

Charlene, an estate agent, said it was common for landlords to prefer not to rent to tenants from India or mainland China because such tenants "are not people who are house proud".

"Many don't clean weekly, and they do heavy cooking, so dust and oil collect over the months. They may use a lot of spices that release smells people don't like."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26832115

[Jacque67 7,328]

Same in Japan . Impossible to rent without Japanese sponsors, and even then it is difficult. They worry foreigners won't take off their shoes when entering the building, throw wild parties, and not put the trash out on the correct days...

Edited May 5, 2014 by Jacque67

[Jacque67 7,328]

A purely coincidental anecdote but I find I have to use different perfumes depending on the country i am in. What smell good in Japan smells putrid in the West and vice versa. People's' sense of smell differs upon the environment they are in. When coming back from Europe my tatami room stinks for a week or so. I don't think it is discrimination. Chinese a d Japanese people prefer. subtle smells which don't necessarily smell so great in a Western climate.

Olfactory senses are interesting for me.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

What perfumes do you wear?

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

By Helier Cheung

BBC News, Singapore

When Sunil first moved to Singapore, he had trouble finding an apartment.

...

"Things would start out OK, maybe because of my [Western] accent - but the moment they heard my name, they'd blank out. Many said 'sorry, we don't rent to these people', or 'sorry, no room for Indians'."

...

Sunil is not alone. A quick glance at online rental listings shows many that include the words: "no Indians, no PRCs [People's Republic of China]", sometimes followed by the word "sorry".

A count on 24 April found that there were more than 160 housing adverts on the website PropertyGuru that clearly stated that the landlord did not wish to rent to Indians and/or mainland Chinese.

...

One Indian expat said his agent told him that many landlords would refuse to rent to him because "Indians always cook smelly curries". Another Briton of South Asian descent did not experience any direct discrimination, but was warned by his agent that some landlords could be difficult.

It was something I experienced too, albeit indirectly. When I searched for a flat, my housing agent received a phone call from one landlord who was worried that I was from mainland China, presumably after they learned about my Chinese ethnicity.

...

Charlene, an estate agent, said it was common for landlords to prefer not to rent to tenants from India or mainland China because such tenants "are not people who are house proud".

"Many don't clean weekly, and they do heavy cooking, so dust and oil collect over the months. They may use a lot of spices that release smells people don't like."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26832115

I've heard about this in various Asian countries. Not against Indians, but anyone who's not from the mainland.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

A purely coincidental anecdote but I find I have to use different perfumes depending on the country i am in. What smell good in Japan smells putrid in the West and vice versa. People's' sense of smell differs upon the environment they are in. When coming back from Europe my tatami room stinks for a week or so. I don't think it is discrimination. Chinese a d Japanese people prefer. subtle smells which don't necessarily smell so great in a Western climate.

Olfactory senses are interesting for me.

Oh that's interesting.

I wonder if it has to do with eating different things. I know that there are perfumes/colognes/scented things that smell terrible on me but smell amazing in the bottle or on my friend. This is likely due to slightly different PH or other chemical properties of our skin. Since the food you eat can influence your natural scent, I wonder if your perfume is reacting to a different diet?

[Merrytooth 5,748]

It is not racial discrimination.. but rather the landlords have the choice to decide who they want to rent out their houses to.

These group of people destroyed the houses they rented and the landlords have to spend tons of money after that to renovate their properties that even the rent incomes could not cover.

It is their bad behaviour that give the groups the bad names, that's why landlords do not want to rent to them.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

It is not racial discrimination.. but rather the landlords have the choice to decide who they want to rent out their houses to.

These group of people destroyed the houses they rented and the landlords have to spend tons of money after that to renovate their properties that even the rent incomes could not cover.

It is their bad behaviour that give the groups the bad names, that's why landlords do not want to rent to them.

Do you think every Indian would ruin their houses?

[Jacque67 7,328]

What perfumes do you wear?

Are you really interested?

In Japan Yohji Yamamoto and Comment des Garçons smell great, but not so in the US or Europe.

Chanel 5, 17, Balenciaga's Florabotanica are great in London and NY, but are overbearing here in Japan.

Same with ceramics. Japanese tea ceremony ceramics lose their impact in Western lighting, whilst the gaudy stuff Europeans prefer to collect actually looks good within a European rather than Japanese setting.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Coriander smells great in Thailand but awful in Japan . I think it has more to do with climate than diet.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Do you think every Indian would ruin their houses?

From the ancedote of the those who have rented their house to foreign indians/PRCs, most have very bad experiences like their furniture are totally ruined (have to be all thrown out), the walls of their house are so dirty, bathrooms destroyed.

Hence, it is not worth the hassle/money to rent out to them.

Even Singapore Indians do not want to rent their houses to foreign indians, that speaks volume of their horrible experiences.

These groups of people are generally temporarily workers in Singapore, so they don't take pride in taking care of other people houses for you.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Are you really interested?

In Japan Yohji Yamamoto and Comment des Garçons smell great, but not so in the US or Europe.

Chanel 5, 17, Balenciaga's Florabotanica are great in London and NY, but are overbearing here in Japan.

Same with ceramics. Japanese tea ceremony ceramics lose their impact in Western lighting, whilst the gaudy stuff Europeans prefer to collect actually looks good within a European rather than Japanese setting.

Yes I am, but I should have stated it differently. I am interested in what scents smell good in the west but bad elsewhere.

That is interesting, thanks. I would have thought Comme des Garçons would smell good in Europe, being a French brand, no?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

From the ancedote of the those who have rented their house to foreign indians/PRCs, most have very bad experiences like their furniture are totally ruined (have to be all thrown out), the walls of their house are so dirty, bathrooms destroyed.

Hence, it is not worth the hassle/money to rent out to them.

Even Singapore Indians do not want to rent their houses to foreign indians, that speaks volume of their horrible experiences.

These groups of people are generally temporarily workers in Singapore, so they don't take pride in taking care of other people houses for you.

Maybe it has more to do with them being single men than being Indian? Don't you think a person deserves a chance to be interviewed or something first?

If these workers are needed in Singapore, which I assume they are since they get visas, then shouldn't there be housing for them? Do you have security deposits or anything there, that could be relinquished if the apartment is messy? Threat of loss of money usually makes people pay attention. It just seems there should be another way besides just giving a blanket ban to a nationality.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Yes I am, but I should have stated it differently. I am interested in what scents smell good in the west but bad elsewhere.

That is interesting, thanks. I would have thought Comme des Garçons would smell good in Europe, being a French brand, no?

Comme des Garçons is very much aJapanese brand- hope you were jesting. Rei Kawakaburo is the designer !!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Comme des Garçons is very much aJapanese brand- hope you were jesting. Rei Kawakaburo is the designer !!

So tricksy