Rejected Because of Your Surname: What You Can Do About Discrimination on Utrecht's Housing Market

In the first edition of Ongehoorde Verhalen, Omroep AfroNet spoke with a complaints handler and a politically active Utrecht resident about housing discrimination. The conversation was not about the problem itself, but about rights, reporting and what the system behind it can change.

Research in recent years has shown that people with a non-Western surname are invited to viewings less often. Even so, hardly any reports come in. Omroep AfroNet recorded this conversation for the first edition of Ongehoorde Verhalen, the live editions of De Tafel van Utrecht, on 26 September at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht.

Host Napoléon Mugabe spoke with Michel Aben, senior complaints handler at Discriminatie.nl Provincie Utrecht, and with Jay Sadhoe, who is politically active in Utrecht. Aben looks at it from a practical angle: what do you do when things have gone wrong? Sadhoe looks at the system: vacancy, policy and money.

Seven Reports Out of Nearly 2,900

Aben put the gap between research and reports into numbers. According to him, his organisation received nearly 2,900 reports last year, of which seven concerned housing: two about sexual orientation, one about nationality and four about origin. He described it as "het topje van de ijsberg" (the tip of the iceberg).

According to Aben, there are several reasons. Many people do not know Discriminatie.nl or do not know what a report achieves. Others only have a vague signal or an email, and wonder whether it is worth the energy. He explained that equal treatment legislation works with a shifted burden of proof. So you do not have to prove everything yourself, but you do have to present facts that raise a suspicion of discrimination. The other party must then show that no discrimination took place.

Aben said that after the studies, the municipality of Utrecht also had an awareness campaign made for residents. According to him, not many more reports came in after that either. Asked how to encourage people anyway, he answered that reporting is always worthwhile. Reports make the problem visible in the annual figures, and policymakers and researchers need those figures.

What Happens After a Report

Aben first described a case handled by his colleagues in Groningen, not by his own office. A single Syrian man was at the top of the list for a social housing unit. According to his account, he was phoned and turned away because the housing corporation would rather have had a mother with a child. The anti-discrimination service wrote to the corporation and brought the case before the College voor de Rechten van de Mens. The College ruled that prohibited discrimination had taken place on the grounds of marital status and gender. Origin could not be proven, because it had only been mentioned over the phone. A response from the corporation was not part of the conversation.

A ruling by the College is not legally binding, Aben explained. No home or compensation automatically follows. However, the ruling is published, a procedure before the College does not have to cost anything or require a lawyer, and a judge must later take it into account. A municipality can also use such a ruling as the basis for a warning, a fine or administrative enforcement. The procedure currently takes a long time. Aben mentioned the backlog left over from the pandemic and said the College has taken on new members. If the case goes to court, a lawyer is needed, although people on a low income may qualify for legal aid.

Not every case has to go that far. Aben described a mediation in which a man, thanks to access to his file, saw that something had genuinely gone wrong in a corporation's procedure. According to him, that brought gains for both sides. On criminal law, he said he knows of no housing market discrimination cases, but that this route is open.

Vacancy, Office Buildings and a Home Through an Estate Agent

Sadhoe talked about his own search for a home. In Amsterdam he was turned down again and again in housing lotteries. Only with an estate agent, who according to him charged a lot of money, did he and his partner get a home. In his view that should not be possible, because far from everyone can afford it.

He cited figures for Utrecht, such as a waiting time of nearly twelve years for social housing and 1,600 vacant homes. The editorial team has not separately verified these figures. He also pointed to vacant office buildings and to plots that, in his words, are held onto by large property developers and insurers. He argued that the police or the municipality should be able to take over management of buildings after long periods of vacancy. He is not sure why this features so little on the political agenda. He suspects lobbying plays a part. Responses from those parties were not part of the conversation.

Aben added a note of nuance: more homes do not automatically mean less discrimination. When there is scarcity, he said, people discriminate more readily, as on the labour market too. More homes can still help. Sadhoe also wants a dashboard on which the municipality shows how much new construction is social housing, mid-range rental or affordable ownership.

Questions from the Audience

Among other things, the audience asked whether you are allowed to apply under a different name. Aben answered that this is not a criminal offence. According to him, such a test is accepted as evidence, although you do have to give your own details when signing. Sadhoe said he could not find work with his full first name, but did with a shortened name he goes by. He argued that people should be able to respond to a home anonymously, so that the landlord only learns who you are at the contract stage.

On the fragmentation of legal assistance, Aben said he sees no intent behind it. By law, anti-discrimination services must be independent of the municipality, because a municipality can discriminate too. He does think the municipality should take the lead, so that residents do not have to find the right desk themselves. You can report via the Discriminatie.nl website, by phone, via WhatsApp or through an app, based on your postcode.

Background

The studies Aben referred to began in 2018. According to the College voor de Rechten van de Mens, in the De Groene Amsterdammer investigation, 46 of 50 rental agents went along with a discriminatory request. In 2024, the Verwey-Jonker Instituut again carried out correspondence tests and mystery calls on behalf of the municipality of Utrecht. According to the institute, firm conclusions about unequal opportunities were not possible because of the limited number of correspondence tests. The Woonbond reported on the national monitor that Moroccan-sounding names were invited slightly less often, but that this difference was no longer significant. For the intermediaries in the mystery calls, the picture was less hopeful.

According to the Dutch national government, the Wet goed verhuurderschap (Good Landlordship Act) took effect on 1 July 2023. Landlords and intermediaries must use a transparent selection procedure with objective criteria and give reasons for a rejection. Municipalities enforce the law. For housing corporations, supervision lies with the Autoriteit Woningcorporaties. A law firm cites a maximum administrative fine of 22,500 euros.

You can watch the full Omroep AfroNet broadcast in the video with this article.

Bronnen

• Omroep AfroNet op YouTube: de volledige live-uitzending
• College voor de Rechten van de Mens: Discriminatie op woningmarkt
• Verwey-Jonker Instituut: Monitor discriminatie bij woningverhuur gemeente Utrecht 2024
• Woonbond: Discriminatie op huurmarkt hardnekkig
• Volkshuisvesting Nederland (Rijksoverheid): Aanpak woondiscriminatie
• Dirkzwager: Wet goed verhuurderschap