Spatial Variations in Online Rental Discriminatory and Restrictive Language

Keywords: Discrimination, Fair Housing, Web Scraping, Natural Language Processing, Submarkets, Rental housing
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 09:40 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 11:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 29

Abstract

While the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the rental housing market on the basis of race, color, or religion, there exist ample opportunities for landlords to restrict their rental units to individuals with varying background statuses. These restrictions, such as minimum credit scores, criminal history, source of income, or prior evictions, for instance, are often correlated with race and thus hold the potential to perpetuate spatial patterns of racial and income segregation. In this article, online rental listings from Zillow and Craigslist were analyzed in a case study of Charlotte, North Carolina to examine the proliferation and spatial variation in discriminatory or restrictive language across real estate submarkets. Minimum credit scores are found to be the most commonly stated restriction for all listings. Language that restricts potential tenants on the basis of credit, Home Ownership Association requirements, minimum incomes, eviction history, and criminal background were most common in submarkets with a primarily white population.