Banning Maori tenants makes good business sense and should be allowed, says a South Waikato landlord.
But Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres has described the comments by Tokoroa landlord Walter Pellikan as an unhelpful generalisation which ignores other factors.
Mr Pellikan was speaking in support of a Tauranga property-owner
who is alleged to have banned real estate agents from letting his property to Maori.
Kelly Lovett last week lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission after allegedly being told by a First National agent that she could not rent a house because the landlord did not want Maori tenants.
The slur has been scorned by many in the rental market who have distanced themselves from such a stance.
First National branch owner Rob Hooper said his company no longer managed properties owned by the landlord concerned.
However, Mr Pellikan has supported the move, claiming nine of the last 10 Maori to have rented one of his units left him out of pocket. He wants nothing more to do with Maori tenants.
"The last two years I have been hammered. It is so bad I won't even rent them anymore. It is easier for me to not rent the properties to anyone."
Mr Pellikan said some of the 13 units in the $75-$100-a-week range had been "wrecked" by young Maori tenants with a "chip on their shoulders".
Many had left him with a hefty repair bill and weeks of rent unpaid.
The property developer, who has been renting properties for the past 40 years, believed the problem was widespread but few landlords were prepared to speak openly about it.
He said he was renovating the units with a view to selling them and getting out of the rental market.
"I used to have Maori tenants who would give me a kiss when I saw them. Now things have changed. Lately it has become really bad."
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said it was illegal to discriminate based on race.
"No amount of generalisation will change that."
Mr De Bres questioned why the landlord had identified race as the consistency in tenants when other factors were as likely to be a cause.
"There are hundreds of thousands of Maori who make good tenants."
