Four apartments slip through their fingers: “Because my partner is Moroccan”
A 30-year-old Italian woman says she has seen four rental properties slip away because her partner is of Moroccan origin. Despite the guarantees they offered, the couple were unable even to view three of the apartments.
Giulia Calderoni, a woman in her thirties from Russi, near Ravenna, was looking for a home with her Moroccan partner for the first time. Their application was successively rejected by a private landlady and then for three apartments offered by a real estate agency, reports the Corriere Romagna.
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The first possibility seemed to be settled. An acquaintance of Giulia’s mother had an apartment that was due to become available a few weeks later. During a conversation, the landlady complained about previous North African tenants who had allegedly damaged her property. Giulia’s mother then told her that her daughter’s partner was of Moroccan origin.
When the couple got ready to view the apartment, the landlady suddenly told them it was no longer available.
Giulia and her partner went to a real estate agency that same day. The employee then asked her whether it was essential for the young man’s name to appear on the lease. She warned her that having him on the contract could “cause problems.”
Giulia refused to rent on her own. The home had to be for the couple, and her partner, whose residence permit was nearing expiration, needed a residential address to complete the renewal process.
Six months’ rent as a guarantee is not enough
The agency then offered them three apartments. For the first, the owner required a bank guarantee equivalent to six months’ rent. The couple accepted this condition and also offered guarantees from Giulia’s mother.
The young woman did not yet have an employment contract, but says a local company had been trying to recruit her for several months and that she could provide a contract the next day. This did not enable them to view the apartment.
The other two scheduled viewings were also cancelled. The agency told the couple that the owners preferred to look for “quieter” tenants. Giulia believes this wording was aimed directly at her partner’s origins.
The situation is reminiscent of Moroccans ruled out of rental properties before being able to present their applications. In Giulia’s case, the couple say they were never even received by the three owners who had listed their properties with the agency.
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“What makes me angry is that they didn’t even meet us,” the young woman says. “A person’s seriousness and reliability do not depend on their nationality.”
