‘I believe it is high time that people like Gabriella Johnson and the nameless owner of the property who discriminated against Pol Osei are prosecuted in accordance with the Rental Housing Act and given harsh sentences, including a period of imprisonment. This might sound harsh, but in the absence of serious consequences, racists landowners and estate agents will continue to cling to the myth that they are doing nothing wrong.’

Constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos says following the news that Johnson had told Osei to ‘find another lease or apartment’ because her client was ‘race specific’ means both the owner of the property and his duly authorised agent (Johnson) ‘almost certainly’ committed a criminal offence by offering to lease an apartment, but only to white tenants.

‘They almost certainly also acted in contravention of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Pepuda), which prohibits any private party from unfairly discriminating against anyone on any of the 16 listed grounds (including race, sex, gender, sexual orientation) or on other analogous grounds like HIV status or nationality.’

Writing on his Constitutionally Speaking blog, De Vos says the right of property owners are limited by section 4(1) of the Rental Housing Act, which states that: ‘In advertising a dwelling for purposes of leasing it, or in negotiating a lease with a prospective tenant, or during the term of a lease, a landowner may not unfairly discriminate against such prospective tenant or tenants, or the members of such tenant’s household or the visitors of such tenant, on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, langu age and birth.’

He adds despite the wording, an estate agent or agency who rents properties on behalf of property owners are also bound by this provision.

De Vos notes that section 4(1) of the Act recognises that discrimination – especially racial discrimination – does not only occur when a landlord refuses to lease a property to a black person.

‘Especially in cases where black tenants move into a block of flats predominantly occupied by white tenants, black tenants and their friends are often unfairly discriminated against by being treated differently from white tenants because of racist assumptions and fears.’

He says there are many ways in which racial discrimination manifests itself in the rental accommodation space and it is not only landowners and estate agents that discriminate against prospective or existing black tenants and their visitors.

‘In these cases where the discrimination cannot be linked to the landowner or their agent – such as cases where the body corporate of a building harasses black tenants or their guests in a way that amounts to unfair discrimination – this would be in contravention of the relevant provisions of Pepuda and those who discriminate could be taken to the Equality Court to be held accountable.’

While he accepts this may sound harsh, he says in the absence of serious consequences, ‘racists landowners and estate agents will continue to cling to the myth that they are doing nothing wrong’.

Full analysis on the Constitutionally Speaking blog