An Indian prospective tenant was previously reported being rejected by a homeowner because of her race.
The homeowner’s daughter has since reached out to us to clarify the episode and share their family’s side of the story.
She said:
“My mother is in her 80’s and communicates mainly in Hokkien and Mandarin. When we seek a tenant, we need someone she can communicate with as she is the only occupant/owner there.
That is the only reason she told the agent that she could not take on an Indian tenant.Â
She does have friends of other races, but they don’t live with her and if they have any difficulty talking, at least their exchanges are usually only about food and simple things.
With a tenant, however, there are practical day-to-day matters where a common language is needed. Previous experience with other tenants has made this a decision we had to hold to.
The person who was in contact with Adeline (the Indian tenant), Jason, was someone who took on the role of agent.
He clearly has poor communication skills and failed to expand on the reason why my mother could not entertain Adeline’s request to check out her rental property. I can understand Adeline’s dismay and frustration on receiving this rude and, apparently, clearly racist-sounding, rejection.
When we got wind of this news that’s been going around social media, a few hours ago, we immediately got a hold of Jason, the “agent”, to clarify the issue with Adeline.
I enclose a screenshot of her response. As you can see, she accepted the reason for her rejection and also apologised for “causing such an inconvenience” to Jason and the owner (my mother).
Please note that my mother is recuperating from 2 fractured arms and really does not deserve to have to deal with any visits from anyone who may have gotten a hold of our address, because of this piece of news.”
