Memphis ‘secret shoppers’ uncover housing discrimination in nearly half of properties tested

A Memphis nonprofit has uncovered evidence of widespread housing discrimination in the city — much of it based on race.

The Fair Housing Council of Metropolitan Memphis found clear evidence of discrimination by landlords and property managers against prospective tenants at nearly half of the 60 properties it surveyed.

The results came from a process called fair housing testing, wherein two “secret shoppers” with different protected characteristics — like race, gender or disability — tour the same property under the guise of being prospective renters. They then report their experiences back to the test designers, who compare them to uncover evidence of discrimination.

The discrimination FHCMM uncovered in Memphis took a variety of forms, but was most often based on race. Twenty-one of the 28 instances of bias recorded by the group were anti-Black bias. Other types of bias it found included discrimination based on source of income and national origin. All these types of bias are illegal under federal housing law.

Many of the other tests were inconclusive, meaning that building management treated their two testers differently from one another — but it wasn’t clear whether the differences indicated discrimination.

In total, only three tests out of 60 total showed no evidence of differential treatment. Out of the 45 race-based tests, a Black tester and a white tester were treated the same only once.

In one case of racial discrimination, a Black tester was told in December that no units would be available until late February. A white tester who visited the same property was told one unit would be available at the end of December and three more would be available in early January. 

Both testers inquired about a February 1 move-in date, meaning the property’s claims about availability specifically discouraged the Black tester from pursuing a lease. 

In another case, a white tester was offered a $500 discount on their first month’s rent while touring with a community manager. A Black tester was not offered the same perk during a tour with the same manager, even when they asked about rent discounts.

“Tests that were performed in neighborhoods with housing (in) good physical condition… were more likely to show evidence of differential treatment,” the report concluded. 

Many instances of this discrimination were found in areas that currently have low concentrations of Black residents. As a result, Black Memphians are often systemically barred from moving to neighborhoods with better-quality housing, FHCMM wrote in its report on the findings. 

While the Fair Housing Council has not revealed which specific properties or landlords engaged in racial discrimination, it intends to do so in the future when it files complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The council may also pursue lawsuits against offending property owners for violating federal anti-discrimination laws, said Chenise Anthony, the group’s executive director.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that we can use housing testing data to prove housing discrimination and use it as evidence in cases against people who violate the Fair Housing Act,” Anthony said.

Suing landlords and filing complaints with HUD can both lead to disciplinary actions for landlords. HUD can mandate that property managers and other staff attend fair housing trainings and can impose fines on properties that discriminate against protected groups. Realtors can lose their professional licenses if HUD or a court finds that they have violated the Fair Housing Act. 

Anthony added that lawsuits can also lead to significant legal fees for discriminatory landlords, which act as a deterrent for those who don’t follow the law.

The Fair Housing Council has already filed three housing discrimination complaints against properties in the Memphis metro area, including one that has also led to a lawsuit. Unlike the tests in the report, these complaints were related to disability-based discrimination — specifically, landlords denying medically necessary accommodations for renters with disabilities.

In two of these three cases, the properties in question agreed to the requested disability accommodation after learning of the complaint the Fair Housing Council had filed against them. 

But the rest of the properties the council has probed for discrimination don’t know it — at least not yet.

“I will say that we are watching a lot of people,” Anthony said. “We haven’t moved yet because we’re gathering evidence.”

She emphasized that renters who believe they are facing unfair treatment based on their race, gender, or other identity category should reach out to the Fair Housing Council for help. There are a few ways to do this:

• Call 901-538-7700
• Email info@fhcmm.org
• Go to fhcmm.org and click the red button that says Report Discrimination

Anthony emphasized that reports of suspected discrimination will be kept private and will not be shared with the landlord in question.

“If you call us, what you say on the phone or in your report is between you and us, and it does not leave our office,” she said. Even calls about poor housing conditions or other landlord-tenant disputes are useful, because they can lead to her group uncovering evidence of illegal discrimination.

“The Fair Housing Council is very present … we meet with a lot of people,” Anthony said. “There are a lot of (landlords) who are going to be in big, big trouble.”

Does your Memphis landlord treat you worse than your neighbors? MLK50 wants to hear about your experience. Contact the author of this piece at natalie.wallington@mlk50.com.

Natalie Wallington is the housing reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Email her at natalie.wallington@mlk50.com.

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