RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN TORONTO’S RENTAL MARKET?
This study investigates anti-Black discrimination in Toronto’s rental market, revealing systemic barriers that restrict housing opportunities for Black tenants.
Led by: Jason Hackworth, Natali Keckesova and Paul Boniface Akaabre
Who we are
The Housing Justice Lab, led by PI Prof. Prentiss Dantzler, is a new research centre focused on housing justice across North American cities.
background
Racial discrimination remains a persistent barrier in Toronto’s rental market, disproportionately affecting Black tenants seeking housing. Despite legal protections, black renters face systemic biases that limit their access to desirable properties, often encountering lower response rates, dismissive landlord interactions, and higher rejection rates compared to white applicants. These discriminatory practices contribute to broader patterns of housing insecurity and socioeconomic inequality, reinforcing structural disadvantages within housing systems.
By measuring differential treatment through an audit, this study shares a brief insight of the extent of anti-Black bias in rental housing. Addressing these inequities requires targeted policy interventions, landlord accountability measures, and broader systemic changes to ensure equitable access to housing opportunities for Black renters in Toronto.
Findings
This study examines responses across five areas; listing type, level of asking rent, household income level of neighborhood, level of growth or decline in neighborhood rent levels and ethno-racial concentration of surrounding neighborhood.
Key findings include:
1) Residential choice in Toronto that is free from ethno-racial prejudice is a myth.
2) Similar to U.S. studies, landlords often see Black tenants as poor investments, especially in high-value areas.
3) First-contact audits reveal only part of the discrimination problem, underestimating the full extent of bias in housing searches.
4) Researchers need to investigate housing discrimination further, and policymakers must enforce stronger protections for Black renters.
“Does anti-black housing discrimination
exist in Toronto? If so, under what
conditions is it most prevAlant? ”
— Racial Discrimination in Toronto’s Rental Market? Findings from an audit completed in the Fall of 2024