Single mom of 4 describes rejection by London, Ont., landlords asking for marital status

Sky Everton knew that finding a rental home for her family in London, Ont would be challenging but she was not expecting to be questioned by landlords asking about her marital status. 

Everton and her four kids need to be out of the three bedroom home they've been in for the past four years to make way for owners moving in. The deadline is Dec. 31. 

She's been using Facebook Marketplace as a search tool allowing her to reach out to landlords directly. She says there have been times when she's been asked application-like questions via Messenger before even looking at a rental. 

"If they want to get to know you they'll say, 'Tell me about yourself,'" said Everton. "So, you ask them, 'What would you like to know?' and they want to know about your family situation, why are you moving?" 

"So, you tell them all that, but generally, a lot of the times when I get to the part where I'm a single mom with four kids it just ends." 

She says people have asked more explicit questions during her search, like where her children's father is, which she feels is intrusive. 

"I don't think it's really anybody's business," she said, "But I do tell them. If they want to know, I got out of a domestic violent situation three years ago. I go ahead and tell them that and it makes them uncomfortable but they asked."

Lee Web, the manager of services and education at Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) said that "there's a number of different things that do come up in [their] work that match [Everton's] experience." 

Nobody has made an overt comment about Everton being Indigenous when looking for a home, but she says she feels that a stigma exists regarding Indigenous people too. 

Web explained that Indigenous people can come up against various forms of discrimination when looking for a place, from racial prejudice to stereotypes. 

"We've had clients who have been led to buildings of lesser quality," Web said. "Clients who have had the rent going from one price to a higher price when it's discovered that they are of a racial minority." 

According to Web, a potential landlord can request one's credit and rental history references, as well as information relating to their income.

Everything else is off limits based on the Human Rights Code, he explained. 

Web said that if off limit questions come up, one can decline, deflect or defer what is being asked. If the question is discriminatory, they can also call the landlord out, explaining that their question is just that.