Landlords have differing ideas on who to rent to

PETALING JAYA: While some landlords say they prefer tenants from the same religious and ethnic background to avoid drama, others say they only care if their rent is paid up on time.

For Kelvin Lim, who has properties in Tropicana, he prefers to choose Chinese due to religious concerns.

“If I pick others, they might not be comfortable with some things that we do at home.

“We do not want to create unnecessary drama.

“I am not a racist. It is purely due to religious concerns,” he said when contacted.

Lim, 38, said adverts asking for ethnicity or stating the ethnicity of preference, was common across the country.

“After talking to them over the phone, I will meet them personally to get to know more about the potential tenant.

“I want to make sure they will be able to take good care of my property.

“Some of the landlords prefer non-smokers.

“Others do not want tenants to have pets. This is also similar,” he said.

Another property owner in Petaling Jaya, Susan Lam, 42, said she does not take into consideration racial, religious or gender background but prefers those who could pay their rent on time and keep the premises clean.

“I have rented out my properties to all races.

“It is really not hard to respect each other’s beliefs.

“For Muslim tenants, they just do not mix their utensils while their housemates can cook using separate kitchen wares.

“There shouldn’t be any problem as we are a multiracial society and respect one another.

“As long as tenants are responsible, respectful and clean, that is good enough,” she said.

But Nur Sharifah Azhar, 32, who owns a property in Subang Jaya, said she prefers female tenants.

“Race is never a consideration but I have had bad experiences with male tenants.

“I rented out to a group of students but they did not take good care of the house. So now, I prefer female tenants or married couples,” she said.

Property agent Muhammad Iqbal Anwar, 33, said most landlords would make known their racial preferences when they want to rent out their properties.

“It is not unusual. We will stick to the choice of the landlords because it is their property. There is nothing racist about the advertisements,” he said.