Rental discrimination mapped worldwide

Brussels, 7 September 2026 – Ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and those in a precarious socio-economic position face the highest levels of discrimination in the rental market worldwide. Furthermore, rental discrimination has barely decreased over the past 25 years. In Europe, ethnic discrimination in the rental market is, on average, 16 per cent higher than in North America. This is revealed by a large-scale review study conducted by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Ghent University (UGent), led by Prof. Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe (VUB). The researchers analysed the results of 114 studies from 31 countries, covering more than half a million tenancy applications. Never before has rental discrimination been mapped on such a broad scale.

Major review study on rental discrimination
Numerous studies show that ethnic minorities face discrimination in the housing market. In Belgium, for example, rental applicants with foreign-sounding names are invited to view a property far less often than comparable applicants with Belgian-sounding names.

“Nevertheless, our knowledge was very limited regarding other vulnerable groups in the housing market, the differences in discrimination between countries and how the situation has evolved over time,” says Prof. Verhaeghe. “It is precisely these questions that our new research answers.”

The researchers compared discrimination in the rental market across five legally protected grounds of discrimination: ethnic origin, gender, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic status, such as social class or income. To this end, they analysed all available test cases on rental discrimination carried out worldwide between 2002 and 2024. In test cases, researchers send fictitious tenancy applications in response to real rental advertisements. The applicants are virtually identical in all relevant characteristics, with the exception of the protected characteristic under investigation, such as ethnic origin or gender. This enables researchers to ascertain whether certain groups are treated differently by estate agents or landlords.

A total of 114 studies were analysed, comprising more than half a million rental applications from 31 countries.

Not all vulnerable groups face the same level of discrimination
The results show that ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and those in a precarious socio-economic position face the highest levels of discrimination in the rental market. On average, they are around 20 per cent less likely to receive a positive response from landlords or estate agents.

Prof. Verhaeghe: “When people think of rental discrimination, the focus is often on ethnic origin. Our study shows that this is indeed one of the main grounds for discrimination, but that people with disabilities or those in a precarious socio-economic position are affected just as severely. This exacerbates inequality in our society.”

Men and LGBT people are also, on average, 4 per cent less likely to be invited for a viewing worldwide. However, these forms of discrimination are not found on the Belgian rental market. Within ethnic discrimination, the differences are also significant. Globally, applicants with Turkish or Maghreb names are the most severely disadvantaged: on average, they receive 28 per cent fewer positive responses. Applicants with African, Eastern European or Asian names receive 15 to 18 per cent fewer positive responses. Tenant applicants with a South American background are the least affected, receiving on average 6 per cent fewer positive responses.

More ethnic discrimination in Europe than in North America
The researchers also identified geographical differences. These show that, on average, there is 16 per cent more ethnic discrimination in the European rental market than in the North American rental market.

Gay and lesbian couples are also, on average, slightly more heavily discriminated against in Europe than in North America. No significant geographical differences were found for the other grounds of discrimination investigated.

Rental discrimination shows little sign of decreasing
One of the most striking findings is that rental discrimination has hardly decreased since the turn of the century. The only exception is discrimination on the basis of socio-economic status, which has indeed fallen. This is remarkable because anti-discrimination legislation has been significantly expanded in recent decades, particularly in Europe since the introduction of the Racial Equality Directive in 2000. Other research also shows that discrimination has hardly decreased in the labour market.

“Over the past few decades, most countries have significantly tightened their anti-discrimination laws under pressure from Europe and public opinion,” says Prof. Verhaeghe. “Nevertheless, these laws often remain paper tigers due to the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms. On paper, everything is well regulated, but in practice the laws are not being enforced,” explains Prof. Verhaeghe.

Previous studies show that rental discrimination actually declined in the 1980s and 1990s. However, this decline appears to have stalled since then. The researchers therefore call for greater investment in the effective enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation.