A family member of mine worked for a landlord who was wary of Indian tenants for this reason: the fragrance of their traditional cooking escaped to annoy other tenants and also lingered in the apartment even after families would leave requiring expensive professional service. According to a search engine lookup this is quite common.
The article even mentions this, albeit, indirectly.
> Reasons cited for such practices range from perceptions of lack of cleanliness, to likelihood of damaging the apartment,
Translation: we've had to have an apartment professionally cleaned to get the cooking smell out and it was expensive.
This is a legitimate concern for a landlord, especially smaller ones. And I feel like this is something that could be addressed by acknowledging the concern, then offering something to alleviate it, such as a larger security deposit. I'm sure they can't do that because it's technically illegal to discriminate against national origin for housing in most places.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/x3ct2/landlords_ho...
"The problem is oil that gets into the air then sticks to everything."