A viral Reddit post by an Indian immigrant in Canada is sparking widespread conversation about discriminatory rental practices within Indian communities.
Posted to a popular Canadian subreddit, the user expressed deep frustration with the exclusionary nature of rental listings frequently seen in South Asian circles. “It’s always something like ‘Only Gujarati girl,’ or ‘Punjabi-speaking vegetarian girl preferred,’” the user wrote. “Some go as far as saying, ‘Strictly vegetarian, no non-veg even from outside,’ or ‘We are looking for someone who speaks our mother tongue only, follow our religion only.’”
The Redditor questioned the legality and ethics of such ads, noting, “Are we just pretending that we didn’t move to a different country with a different language and with actual laws around housing discrimination?” The post further read, “You’re not in India anymore where you can get away with putting up caste, language, and dietary restrictions in rental ads like it’s normal. I get wanting compatibility in a shared space, sure, but this is just blatant exclusion and it’s honestly discriminatory – both legally and morally. If you’re that picky about language, food, and background, maybe just don’t rent the place out? Or live with your family? This isn’t a matchmaking service.”
“Never rent from desi landlords”
The post has garnered significant support online. “Been in vancouver for a few years now & from my experience, never rent from desi landlords. No sense of privacy, basic manners like taking permission & minimum 24 hour notice before showing up.. etc. Funniest for me was this one ad went like : Need a sister for 5 brothers currently living in 6 bedroom house. No rent required, only make fresh food daily for her new 5 brothers.. true story!, ” stated a user. Another wrote, ” When I moved to Vancouver pre Covid, I was looking for an accommodation and some Indian landlord showed me a place where I had to share a room with another person with a screen which divided our bed. From then never went with Indian landlords and am happy with that decision till now.”
“Don’t forget some even do this while hiring, sometimes they are not so upfront about it. But it’s proven that they will only hire people from their own community. I have also seen post from people wanting to meet only particular folks like South Indians or Gujaratis in condo Facebook groups,” claimed a user.