In Poland I haven’t seen (or I didn’t notice) this trend about renting flats only for people with Polish citizenship before the war in Ukraine started. Right now I would say 3/5 of ads mentions something about citizenship or at least permanent stay permit.

In Poland you can’t really force somebody out of a flat, even if one does not pay rent and for utilities, provided he has no other place to go. Things can go especially complicated if you are renting a flat to a person with a child.

That’s why people seem to be vary of renting flats to foreigners, because they think they may have problems with rent, or even getting their real estate back – which I think is a heartbreaking occurance.

Do you notice similar thing happening in your country?

16 comments
  1. Our ads usually include something like “Slavs only”. There was a scandal back before the war when our biggest real estate website CIAN planned to have an IPO on NYSE, came up with a new DEI code of conduct and started banning ads that had this phrase.

  2. I’ve never seen it in an ad and I’m pretty sure that would be illegal. But foreigners or even Germans with a immigration background being discriminated on the housing market is very much a thing here too.

  3. Is discrimination based on citizenship legal or is it just something people are doing regardless of the law?

  4. Have never seen something like that really. Though it’s pretty common for people, mostly women, who puts out a room for rent to type “women only”

  5. you can’t say this in advertisement but you don’t have to explain why you refused someone or preferred someone else.

  6. In Ireland that would be illegal to include in the ad, as per anti-discrimination laws.
    How landlords actually choose from candidates is untraceable.

  7. In Italy you cannot write it down because that is against the law.

    But since this shit is present also here :

    >In Poland you can’t really force somebody out of a flat, even if one does not pay rent and for utilities, provided he has no other place to go. Things can go especially complicated if you are renting a flat to a person with a child.

    Nobody is renting to immigrants because they may get a child, stop pay and stay there until he is 18. If you win the cause ( that will cost you money ) you will discover that they do not own anything and do not reach the minimum salary to get part of it

  8. It’s not legal, but I’ve seen many ads in Czech republic with “No foreigners (Slovaks are ok)” or some variation of this. The smarter landlords don’t put it in the ad but reject you after, as it’s perfectly legal to reject whoever you want, as long as you don’t give a reason.
    I did not have to check in the last years so I don’t know if there are more or less of this types of ads, but for sure they were in 6-7 years ago

  9. I would have to check, but I’m pretty sure that would be illegal.

    ​

    So not common at all even if legal.

  10. I haven’t seen this at all in Romania, did not even imagine it’s a thing.

    Also, it wouldn’t make too much sense tbh, our laws are very pro landlord anyway. And worst case scenario, kicking someone out if they are not paying would not be too hard – not necessarily going through legal means, but not hard to do.

  11. I’ve never seen it in writing, but when I was looking to buy a house/apartment I was told a few times by sellers that they would absolutely never sell to a foreigner (especially a German). I live in an area with a lot of tourism and many houses/apartments have been bought by foreigners as a vacation getaway house.

  12. You don’t see it in ads bcse it is illegal, unconstitutional and criminally punished, so no one halfway intelligent would dare to put it in an ad bcs anyone can report you for it and I have no doubt that in less than 24 hours you would have the NGOs on your back. But it is common knowledge that immigrants, especially Africans and Arabs, have a very difficult time being accepted as tenants.

  13. No, as such ads would be illegal.

    Not sure such ads would be legal anywhere in EU either.

  14. In Germany you can only pick tenants if you or a first degree relative lives on the very same property.

    But all landlords in Germany screen possible tenants anyways. Nobody rents out without seeing you in person.

  15. in switzerland we don’t have to write it down as we have the lex koller (purchasing real estate is only possible if your a resident in switzerland with having your life centre (family, friends, job, hobbies, etc) in switzerland)
    so for foreigners or people just living in switzerland for a few years it is (almost) impossible to purchase real estate.

    renting however it is (officially) not allowed to discriminate

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