SEVERAL days ago, I wrote an article on how some online housing ads seemed to discriminate against certain races or nationalities.
Yesterday, I looked at property classified ads on websites such as www.sg-house.com once more to see if things had improved.
Again, I saw posts saying certain people were not 'eligible' to rent a particular flat because the owner preferred other races or nationalities.
Yes, owners do have the right to decide who gets to rent their flat and who doesn't.
But should property agents, who advertise on their behalf, post sensitive criteria such as race or nationality for all to see?
I think not.
Whether an owner is genuinely looking for the right fit, or is simply biased, the onus is on the agents who post the ads as they can choose not to include race or nationality in them.
Yet, they still do it because it is tedious to turn away people who call, when they spot a post that does not specify race.
I say, leave race or nationality out altogether, and make the effort to give each applicant a polite answer over the phone.
Agents argue that potential tenants could get upset when such criteria are not mentioned upfront and they have wasted time making the call.
Here's where a lesson in tact will help.
There are many reasons why landlords feel uncomfortable about renting to certain people.
Maybe they had a bad experience with a previous tenant, or would rather have one with a similar diet or religion.
The effort taken to explain the owner's stand, instead of simply issuing a blanket statement, would go a long way towards making foreigners feel welcome.
The foreign professionals I interviewed said they went online to search for rental units and saw criteria such as 'Not eligible for Indian', 'Sorry to China' and the like.
It soured their impression of multi-racial Singapore, and made it seem that all people of their ethnicity or nationality were not welcome here.
It is not pleasant to feel discriminated against, and hearing about such experiences could turn other foreigners away.
Granted, it is a small number of agents who place such ads, said the bosses of two property firms I spoke to.
Many agents do know that they should not say a blatant 'No' to certain ethnicities. However, saying someone is not eligible is just as bad, I feel.
Adding a 'Sorry' in front does not dull the sting.
I was surprised to have one agent asking me to suggest better ways of writing ads.
This is where property firms can take the lead and educate their agents on some online etiquette.
I applaud PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail for his pledge to send a circular to all the firm's 8,000 agents at the end of the month to encourage them to be more sensitive.
Websites, too, must act and remove such posts without being told to.
Soon, I hope they will disappear completely from the virtual world.
