Puertas Cerradas: Housing Barriers for Hispanics

Abstract

The fair housing investigation—commissioned by NCLR and conducted by ERC in Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and San Antonio, Texas—explores the extent to which Latinos are subject to adverse and differential treatment when trying to secure rental housing or buy a home. The investigation utilized a \matched pair\ methodology, where Hispanic and White non-Hispanic testers with virtually identical profiles interacted with housing agents in a variety of scenarios. The results revealed that Latino testers experienced at least one type of adverse, differential treatment in 95 of the 225 tests (42%) that were conducted in these three cities.