Nearly 80% of rental agents go along with landlords’ discriminatory requirements

Nearly 80 percent of rental agents are willing to discriminate in the housing market at a landlord’s request. At the same time, 64 percent of agents know that such discrimination is prohibited by law, RTL Nieuws reported, based on a study by the Verwey-Jonker Institute.

This study is conducted annually on behalf of the Ministry of Housing. The Verwey-Jonker Institute had actors call 200 different rental agents who list properties via the housing platform Pararius. The actors asked whether it would be possible to avoid renting to “foreigners such as Moroccans, Turks, or Poles.”

“When we asked during phone calls whether we were permitted to exclude certain people, the response was often: ‘Well, technically that is not allowed, but…’” researcher Marcel Coenders of the Verwey-Jonker Institute told RTL.

Only 20 percent of the agents said no. 48.5 percent immediately indicated that this was possible. One said: “If there are certain people you don’t want in your property, we will take that into account. We are very transparent about that.” Nearly 25 percent did not explicitly agree to the request, but instead noted that it was up to the landlord to choose from the available candidates. The researchers noted this as implicitly facilitating the discrimination.

In nearly 6 percent of the calls, the rental agents suggested selection criteria that would disadvantage ethnic minorities. This included requirements regarding Dutch language proficiency or whether a candidate is considered a “decent tenant.”

The researchers also submitted over 4,000 inquiries for properties listed on Pararius using fictitious names, including names that sounded Moroccan, Polish, and Dutch. They then compared the responses received from the property providers. The researchers found that fictitious house hunters with Moroccan-sounding names were rejected around 15 percent more frequently than those with Dutch names.

“It doesn’t necessarily constitute discrimination in every single case,” Coenders said. “We sent our inquiries through the Pararius messaging system; it’s possible that a message might simply be overlooked.” But the disparity between Dutch and Moroccan names is so large that it cannot be attributed solely to errors. “There is clearly discrimination taking place.”

Pararius director Jasper de Groot told RTL that the platform’s terms and conditions explicitly prohibit rental agents from discriminating. “If specific groups of people are excluded within a property, we take action.” Pararius says it has algorithms to detect discrimination in listings, and prospective tenants can report if they are discriminated against.

De Groot added: “The government would be better off focusing on housing fraud on TikTok, where the names of Pararius and major real estate agencies are being misused. Criminals use our brand to advertise properties that don’t actually exist, leaving victims out of pocket for registration fees or security deposits.”