We Won't Rent to Blacks - Landlady

[Hamrammr]

Pietermaritzburg - A Shelley Beach-based woman was left rejected and disheartened on Thursday after she was denied the opportunity to rent a cottage because she is black. Zanele Mzolo had responded to an advertisement placed in a local publication to acquire more information about the prospect of renting a single bedroom property available in St Michaels-On-Sea. Mzolo asked a work colleague of hers, Mirelle Archibald, to call on her behalf and inquire about the property. Archibald was told by the property’s landlord and owner, a white woman, that she would need to speak with the person looking to rent the cottage in order to give directions to view the property at 14:00. Mzolo returned the phone call in the hopes of confirming the appointment and was shocked by what she was told. “After hearing my voice she asked me if the person looking for accommodation was black. I was a bit shocked at first and I didn’t know what to say, so just I just said ‘yes’,”explained Mzolo.

Mzolo claims that the woman on the phone then apologised, saying that she doesn’t rent her place out to black people because the white tenants who live on the same property wouldn’t get on with black people. The property owner, Jenny, did not want to reveal her surname when she spoke to The Witness. “If it were up to me, I would not have a problem with it. We have had black people staying here before and it just doesn’t work out with the people in the cottages living right on top of each other; it causes fights,” she said. Jenny rents out three cottages on her property, where she lives in a house with her husband. One of the three cottages is currently occupied by white tenants, while the other two are vacant.“I am really not a racist, I just have to be so careful who I let in here. I apologise if what I said was taken the wrong way,” said Jenny.

For Mzolo, though, an apology is small consolation for what she had to endure. “To them, the colour of your skin still matters but not the type of person you are. The rejection was so hard to take; I wouldn’t wish what I felt upon anybody,” she said.

- The Witness

Ha, I love the irony in this newspaper article! This really put a smile on my face. Now she felt how it is to be on the receiving end of the stick. What do they expect, that we can not refuse them if we do not like them? It is just a pity that they find place for this in the media while serious offences commited by black against white get excluded.

For Mzolo, though, an apology is small consolation for what she had to endure. “To them, the colour of your skin still matters but not the type of person you are. The rejection was so hard to take; I wouldn’t wish what I felt upon anybody,” she said.

Shame, I really feel so sorry for her! I know how it feels, we struggle to get a job because we're white. We would not get promoted because we're white. We cannot get a cushy government job because we're white. We would not get state tenders because we're white. Our women get raped because they are white. We get killed because we're white. Ag shame...

[SaxonPagan]

Reminds me of my German landlady down in London some 25 years ago. As a student, I was looking for a place to stay when I saw this message on the student noticeboard ... "Room To Let" ... and then after the description it said in very large capitals NO BLACKS OR INDIANS!!!

I instantly knew that this was the place for me

[Gerhardt Maritz]

Poor Miss Mzolo would feel more at home if she rents a tree. She would get on with the neighbours a lot better as well!

[Northman]

She was stupid to give the real reason for rejecting the renter. She should have been more clever than that. Now she's open to legal action.

I'm a landlord, and there are several types that I would reject, that are technically illegal. For instance, I had an applicant who had 6 kids. I really didn't want such a potentially destructive family. I doubt if I would rent to a Mexican, because they tend to be dirty and have a million relatives. I won't rent to college students, they are nothing but trouble.

The best thing is to put an ad on Craigslist, sift through the applicants, demand a credit report, pick the best applicant, and don't give any potentially illegal reason why you rejected them, so someone doesn't sue you.