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Race, Color, National Origin, Ancestors, & Immigrants
Law protects citizens and non citizens. Black or white, Asian or Latino.
Regardless of where they or their ancestors were born, the language
they speak or the color of their skin.
You should worry only about their capacity to pay rent on time or not
disturb other tenants and keep the unit in a reasonable condition.
You may not:
If you suspect a prospective tenant is
not a legal immigrant you can not ask
about her/his status, unless it is a
question you present to all applicants.
To think that you do not need to re-
pair the premises because your ten-
ants belong to a minority and they will
not complain, is discriminatory.
If the applicant does not speak your
same language it is not a reason not
to negotiate with her/him.
Culture, tradition, or religion of people
with a different national origin are dif-
ferent, but, you have to respect them.
You can not ask a tenant not to cook
some ethnic foods or not to celebrate
some religious holidays.
Decide to rent to only one person per
bedroom. This can leave out some
ethnic groups with large families. You
may be discriminating based on eth-
nicity and family status grounds.
You can not refuse to rent to a minority applicant because there is an ex-
isting racist tenant.
Threatening tenants about immigra-
tion status in order to evict them is
not a good idea; it is discriminatory.
You may
You can ask and you have the right to
know who rents the premises and who is
responsible to pay the rent. Once again, if
you do that with all applicants and tenants.
A good owner looks after the maintenance
of the premises and responds to the legal
requirements to repair any problem. (See
Section 1941 of California Civil Code).
Be sure your tenant understand the terms
of the agreement if s/he does not speak
your language. Remember, ability to
speak a certain language is not indicative
of the ability to pay rent.
You can ask your tenants not to cook
something if someone else in the prem
ises suffers from allergies to smell or has
acute chemical sensivity.
If you use occupancy rules, try to follow
the standards or make sure those rules
do not have a discriminatory effect on minorities.
You are not responsible for the behavior
of your tenants but you might be sure tenants respect each other and put a stop to
any harassment, intimidation or violence.
Advertise your premises in both your language and English to be sure everybody
can apply.
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