Practical tests after discrimination Bruges rental advertisements
On Thursday, VUB researchers Billie Martiniello, Abel Ghekiere and Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe released the results of a study on discrimination in the private rental housing market in Bruges. This shows that in 15% of the rental advertisements Bruges residents with a Syrian or Polish name are discriminated against. This is 18% for residents of Bruges with unemployment benefits.
“Actively tackling discrimination”
Green party leader Raf Reuse wants to put the practical tests on the table again to combat such discriminatory practices. “We must not resign ourselves to this. The city council must actively tackle this discrimination. That is why we have to repeat such practical tests at regular intervals. In this way we point out to landlords their responsibility. Other cities such as Ghent show that this approach can lead to less discrimination.”