Discrimination widespread on Dutch housing market; Few victims report it

Discrimination is still widespread in the Dutch housing market, particularly affecting people with non-Western backgrounds and single people, EenVandaag found in a survey of over 18,000 people in its opinion panel. The vast majority of victims (70 percent) don’t report it.

Almost half of participants with a non-Western background and a quarter of single people reported experiencing discrimination while house hunting in the past decade, a stark contrast with the 12 percent average of all participants. Ethnically diverse and single people had to make many more requests before being invited for a viewing, faced prejudices from estate agents and landlords during viewings, or were ignored altogether.

People with a non-Western background and often a non-Dutch-sounding surname are more often not invited to a viewing. A quarter of home seekers with a non-Western background had to make 15 or more requests before getting an invite to view a house they were interested in. For the average home seeker, that percentage is much lower at 15 percent.

“When I sent an email for a viewing, I was consistently not invited,” a Dutch-Moroccan woman wrote. “Once, I emailed on behalf of my Dutch partner: we could come over. Since then, I have added his name to my surname, although I never officially took his surname after we got married.”

At viewings, ethnically diverse people regularly encounter prejudiced questions or comments from estate agents. “We were repeatedly asked whether we could afford the home. Or we were not given forms to make an offer. When we asked, we were told that the home had already been sold,” a Dutch-Turk respondent said.

“A private landlord did not want to grant us the home. He simply admitted he does not want to rent to people who look Muslim,” a Dutch-Moroccan respondent said.

Single people also face discrimination more often than average. A quarter of singles surveyed reported discrimination, compared to almost no respondents with a partner or a child. Many reported that estate agents consider them a greater financial risk than couples.

“Estate agents reject me by explaining that they are ‘giving the house to a couple in the tight housing market.’ That is nonsense. They just want the financial security of two salaries.”

Only about a quarter of people who experienced discrimination in the housing market did something about it. They mainly discussed it with family or friends and, to a lesser extent, reported it to the estate agent or municipality. Some shared their experience on social media. 7 out of 10 decided against reporting it, often because they didn’t know where to go or didn’t think it would result in anything.