Renters of color typically submit more applications, and pay more in application fees, before they secure a place to live than white renters do. That’s the headline coming from Zillow’s research team, which found the alarming data as a part of its Consumer Housing Trends Report.
Facing an already elevated rental market, in 2021, 61 percent of all renters applied for two or more properties—an 5 percent increase from 2020. According to Zillow, the typical white or Asian American and Pacific Islander renter submits two applications, while a Black or Latinx renter typically submits three.
More than one-third of renters of color submit five or more applications during their home search, including 38 percent of Black and Latinx renters and 33 percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander renters. Only 21 percent of white renters submitted five or more rental apps last year.
Racial inequity also shows up when it comes to security deposits. Zillow found that about 9 in 10 renters paid a security deposit last year, with the typical deposit coming in at $700. However, renters of color paid a security deposit more often (93 percent) than white renters (85 percent), and among those who paid a deposit, the median amount for renters of color was higher, too—$750, compared to $600.
Renters of color also paid more in application fees than white renters, with the typical white renter paying $50, while a typical Black renter paid $65, a typical Latinx renter paid $80, and a typical Asian American and Pacific Islander renter paid $100.
To read more of Zillow’s findings, click here.