Rental Websites Put 'No Indians' Ads in Singapore: Report

Indian and Chinese expatriates are facing increasing discrimination in Singapore with rental websites putting up advertisements saying "no Indians, no PRCs", according to a media report.

It is not clear how many foreign workers have been affected because of the bias against migrants from India and People's Republic of China, the report by BBC said.

However, several expatriates have described experiencing varying levels of discrimination.

The report quoted an Indian expat saying his agent told him that many landlords would refuse to rent to him because "Indians always cook smelly curries".

A estate agent made similar points, saying that landlords were less willing to rent to Indian and mainland Chinese tenants as they believed they would not maintain the property well.

The issue appears more common with less-expensive properties and on sites where content is posted directly by users, such as Gumtree.

A count on April 24 found that there were more than 160 housing advertisements on the website PropertyGuru that clearly stated that the landlord did not wish to rent to Indians and/or mainland Chinese, according to the report.

"There are stereotypes that people have about different immigrant groups and how responsible they are in terms of the upkeep of a rented apartment," said Mathew Mathews, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.

Ethnically a diverse nation, Singapore consists of 74 per cent Chinese, 13 per cent Malay, 9 per cent Indian and 3 per cent from other groups.

However, as 90 per cent of Singaporean households own their homes, a significant portion of renters are foreigners.

Local people blame foreigners for living cost increase and a spike in housing prices.