Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Social class and rental accommodation
I've often noticed flat share and rental accommodation adds which ask 'professional' people to apply. Does this mean there are groups of people around who are so good at just being people that they earn an income from it whilst others, such as myself, are less competent and thus unpaid amateurs?
Assuming that is not the case, what do people mean when they place these adds? Presumably anyone who is paid to perform a particular job is a 'professional' in that occupation (eg. Professional labourer, professional bin man, professional teacher).This means that its unnecessary to ask for a 'professional' and the adds should simply specify that applicants must have a job which makes sense if they need to pay the rent.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Keats Pereira on
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fessional. I person who thinks they're really good at something but ain't. "Man you aint no pro. You're just a damn fessional. Urban dictionary. :-)
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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" Professional " usually means someone who has a degree or equivalent. Doctor, teacher, lawyer, accountant etc.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Yes, formally it does, but it's also commonly shorthand for respectable middle class.
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Well Said. There are definitely different classes of people and "Professional" is code for Middle Class.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Did you ever see flat share ads in Australia asking for Bogans only?
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But, now you have to define " middle class" . In here usually a derogatory term as in " middle class values "
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This replaces "NO DSS" which means nobody who is on the rock n roll
You are not aloud to say not available to people on housing benefit so professional boxes that off, I take it as meaning you need a job, road sweeper or airline pilot don't think it matters
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So no chance for J.K. Rowling when she was just a nobody single mum.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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When I was flat sharing I probably used that wording in ads.
Sometimes I would get 200 responses and you have to weed them out somehow. I mostly used it to avoid students, and getting into arguments with said students when I told them what the council tax was. "But I don't have to pay council tax". "Well if you live here you do".
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Permalink Reply by kotkas on
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Yes, it's a sweeping generalisation used to weed out potential applicants who may not have a stable source of income and would pose payment risk. It's perfectly rational for a landlord or a house share to weed out individuals who may not be able to afford or pay rent.
Financial services institutions have been discriminating on that basis for hundreds of years, so nothing new here. Interesting headline from the FT on that topic just this morning: https://www.ft.com/content/fad16a84-e29f-11e8-8e70-5e22a430c1ad
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You also don't want someone who is likely to be home a lot more than you - it makes you feel like the place is less yours somehow and also contributes to higher bills. Eg my mum just stayed with me for two months, after I submitted meter readings and my water bill has been adjusted up by £40, and my gas and electric £12 a month.
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