Housing discrimination: what is prohibited, and what you can do

# Housing discrimination in Belgium: what is prohibited, and what you can do

Refusing a candidate tenant is a right. Refusing them because of who they are is not. The line is not blurred: it is written in the law, and Belgian judges enforce it. This article sets out where it runs — on both sides.

The legal framework, briefly

Three federal acts (10 May 2007, and the anti-racism act of 30 July 1981) prohibit discrimination in access to goods and services — housing included. The Regions have their own provisions on top, and their own housing inspection services.

Unia is the independent public body that handles most grounds. The Institute for the Equality of Women and Men handles sex, pregnancy, maternity and gender identity.

The protected grounds

Housing may not be refused, nor offered on different terms, on grounds including:

• origin, so-called race, skin colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, nationality;
• sex, pregnancy, maternity, gender identity and expression;
• age;
• disability, current or future state of health, a physical or genetic characteristic;
• sexual orientation;
• religious or philosophical belief, political belief, trade union belief;
• civil status and family situation (including having children);
• birth, social origin, language;
• wealth — that is, means, and in particular the source of income.

Refusing benefit claimants: the most common case

"I don't rent to people on social welfare." "Employment income only." Under Belgian law those sentences are discriminatory: they target the source of income, not its amount. That is the ground of wealth.

The line is clear:

• ✅ Legitimate: checking that the candidate has sufficient and stable means to pay the rent, whatever their source.
• ❌ Unlawful: excluding an income outright because it is unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, an integration income, a disability allowance or a pension.

A replacement income is an income. Two candidates with identical means may not be treated differently according to where those means come from.

The three Regions also restrict the information a landlord may request from a candidate. In Brussels the list is particularly narrow (identity, contact details, number of people in the household, the amount of financial resources). Asking about the nature or source of the income, for a criminal record extract, or for detailed bank statements falls outside that frame. Check the list applicable in the Region where the property is.

Direct and indirect discrimination

• Direct: the protected ground is the reason for the refusal. "We don't rent to large families."
• Indirect: an apparently neutral criterion puts a protected group at a particular disadvantage, without objective and proportionate justification. Typical examples:
• requiring a permanent employment contract when the candidate has stable income of another kind;
• requiring a guarantor resident in Belgium — a condition that in practice excludes many foreign candidates;
• applying a rule such as "income at least three times the rent" mechanically, without ever looking at the household's real situation;
• refusing any file without employment income.

An indirect requirement is not automatically unlawful: it can be lawful if it pursues a legitimate aim (being paid) and the means are appropriate and necessary. But it is for the landlord to show it. A ratio applied like a guillotine, with no regard for actual outgoings, the stability of the income or a guarantor, is hard to defend.

Situation testing and the shifted burden of proof

Proving discrimination is hard: the real reason is rarely written down. The legislature drew the consequence.

The burden of proof is shifted. If the victim presents facts from which discrimination may be presumed, it is for the landlord to prove that he did not discriminate. Such facts may include:

• written exchanges (texts, emails, messages) where the reason appears;
• a pattern: several candidates of the same profile turned away;
• statistics, or a telling selection method;
• the results of a situation test or a mystery call: two identical applications, differing only in the suspect criterion, receive different answers.

Situation testing is recognised as a means of proof. Brussels has also given its regional housing inspectorate the power to carry out situation tests and mystery calls. The other Regions took different routes, and the framework has evolved in recent years: check the arrangements in force in your Region before relying on them.

Your remedies as a candidate tenant

Be aware: these remedies do not give you a right to the flat you wanted. They sanction the behaviour. That is worth knowing before you start.

For landlords: what you may do, and how to protect yourself

You are not obliged to rent to anyone at all. You are entitled to choose a solvent and reliable tenant. The law asks one thing of you: that your decision rest on objective grounds, the same for everyone.

What you may legitimately assess:

• the amount and stability of the means, from whatever source;
• the fit between those means and rent + charges;
• the existence of a guarantor or joint surety;
• the completeness and honesty of the file submitted.

What exposes you:

• an advertisement mentioning a protected ground, however politely phrased ("suits a couple without children", "professional income only") — the ad is itself an offence;
• an instruction to an agency to filter on a protected ground: giving the instruction is prohibited in itself;
• an unexplained refusal in a context where several candidates of the same profile were turned away;
• a ratio applied blindly.

How to document a refusal without exposing yourself:

And on Domilinko?

To help the landlord compare, Domilinko displays an income-to-rent ratio drawn from the tenant file. It is an indicator, not an automatic filter, and it says nothing about the source of the income. A replacement income counts as income.

The decision remains human, individual, and must rest on an objective ground you could explain. Listings are moderated; a listing containing a discriminatory mention is refused. Exchanges go through the platform's messaging, which keeps a time-stamped record — protecting both sides.

> This article is general information, not legal advice. In discrimination matters the analysis depends on the facts: contact Unia, the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, a legal aid service or a lawyer.