Study: Housing Discrimination in Belgium Declines Following Testing Measures

After experimenting with these tests in 2015 in Ghent, it had appeared that 26% of real estate agents discriminated against tenant candidates based on their origins. This percentage fell to 14% in 2019. Researchers Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe and Abel Ghekiere found that only 8% of real estate agents active for at least five years in Ghent, and who have been subjected to the tests, are concerned.

Discrimination tests certainly only concern professional real estate agents, but they also affect the practices of private landlords. Initially, 47% of the announcements of the latter were sources of discrimination. In 2019, this share fell to 21%.

However, it is important to specify that the positive effects were observed during the first phase of the rental process, that is to say when a rental candidate is invited to a visit. But it is almost obvious that discrimination can occur throughout the process.