3. Add services that reduce barriers for residents

Leonard Ang, CEO of iPropertyManagement, says he makes sure the rental office and maintenance departments at multifamily properties he owns in California, Colorado and Washington offer assistance in multiple languages, including Spanish, Tagalog, Mandarin and Arabic. This involves having some multilingual employees, offering written materials in multiple languages and keeping a translation and interpretation service on retainer. That service costs $200 per month, plus $40 per hour for each phone call, according to Ang. 

“At this price, it’s definitely been a worthwhile investment,” Ang says. “Many of our non-English speaking tenants have been with us for years. They’re reliable and great at referring their friends to us.” 

4. Ensure your marketing materials welcome all

This isn’t optional: According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Fair Housing Act, which covers most housing, prohibits “advertisements that indicate a preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, familial status or national origin.” 

Along with abiding by federal legislation, taking an inclusive approach can also benefit property owners by broadening their pool of prospective renters. 

An easy first step is reviewing images of people included in marketing materials and property websites, French says. Is there diversity in age, skin color, gender and ability represented? 

“About 10 years ago, a lot of us in the industry started removing people altogether,” French says. “You went into model apartments, and in the frames, people were always blonde and blue-eyed. It sends a message, ‘That’s who we want living here.’” 

5. Be inclusive in hiring and vendor relationships

Employees with diverse backgrounds bring different perspectives that can help businesses generate new ideas and tackle problems in new ways, French says. 

One strategy she recommends for reducing bias in hiring is to ensure the person reviewing candidates’ resumes only sees information related to their experience, not details like their name, photo or high school graduation year. 

“If you remove things that could feed someone’s bias … that can open a door, or maybe not close a door you would close because of your own discomfort,” she says. 

Property owners can also consider loosening or eliminating degree requirements for candidates with quality experience and make a point to include existing employees in the candidate pool for open positions. 

“We often talk about hiring diverse employees outside the company, but why not start inside and show the people who work for us now that we’re invested in them?” French says. 

It’s also a good idea to consider whether you’re working with diverse partners and suppliers, especially those creating jobs in your local community.   

Asking about their demographics may be a challenge at first, Lee-Wen says. 

“It takes practice, but if you are committed to increasing diversity within the industry, we need to get comfortable having those conversations,” she says. “And if your company has a lot of diversity in its ranks, be loud and proud about that.”