Good tenants come from all races. To engage the public – particularly landlords and estate agents – in tackling racial discrimination in housing, the EOC will launch an MTR advertising campaign in the coming month. Trains running on the Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line and Kwun Tong Line will sport a two-part advert on their window panels, showing a Hongkonger of South Asian descent and an ethnic Chinese landlord entering into a tenancy agreement with the help of an agent and smiles on their faces.

Past studies by the EOC have reported cases of non-Chinese people being refused tenancy by landlords after a face-to-face meeting, despite having previously reached an agreement over the phone. Others reported being told by estate agents that landlords did not want to rent to ethnic minorities, before being asked to leave the agency office.
 
Under the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO), it is unlawful for a landlord to refuse to rent premises to a person or to offer the premises to a person on less favourable terms because of the person’s race (unless the exception relating to small premises or landlords wholly occupying the premises applies). Further, it is unlawful to knowingly aid an unlawful act under the RDO, meaning that estate agents would risk contravening the Ordinance by knowingly helping landlords screen out prospective tenants based on race.

The EOC has previously created a guide to Hong Kong’s anti-discrimination ordinances for tenants, landlords and estate agents. The Estate Agents Authority (EAA) also published an article recently about what agents should do to avoid racial discrimination. Click the links below to access these resources.

• Read the EOC’s guide
• Read the EAA’s article