{"id":9224,"date":"2020-03-13T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T12:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.relocation.de\/?p=9224"},"modified":"2021-07-07T10:39:56","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T08:39:56","slug":"discrimination-on-germanys-residential-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.relocation.de\/en\/discrimination-on-germanys-residential-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Discrimination on Germany\u2019s residential market?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is it so\ndifficult for an expat who doesn\u2019t speak German to get accepted as the new\ntenant of a sought-after rental apartment? And what can you do, as an employer\nand employee, to secure success despite these odds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Germany\u2019s\nurban centres, there\u2019s hardly anything more laborious in life than the task of\nfinding an apartment. At least that\u2019s what anyone looking will confirm to you\nwithout exception. And it\u2019s particularly difficult for anyone from abroad. There are many different reasons for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

One factor\nhere is that demand is determined by supply: The\navailability of apartments is generally very limited, meaning that prices are\nenormously high, to varying degrees depending on the particular city and\nneighbourhood. And often, what they actually offer is a world away from what\nyou would expect for the price. But if you\u2019ve hit the jackpot and fallen in\nlove with a particular apartment, you might well find \u2013 again, depending on the\ncity \u2013 that there are 100 or more people applying for the same place. Not only\ndoes this make things more difficult, it makes things almost impossible \u2013\nespecially if you\u2019re a foreign citizen. In addition to this, landlords often\nhave their own ideas about who they want to rent an apartment out to: People\nwith a secure income, preferably couples and, if they have a choice, ideally\nwithout any children involved. You know, the so-called DINKS (Double Income No\nKids). As if that wasn\u2019t enough, other more subtle things are then also\nfactored in such as an applicant\u2019s particular profession, how likeable they\nare, what nationality they are, and how good their German is. This not only\nsounds like discrimination \u2013 it is discrimination. But it is difficult to prove\nin the majority of cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem\nof certain groups of people being excluded begins \u2013 of course, in people\u2019s\nheads to start with \u2013 but then as early on as reading the classified ads and\nlistings in online real estate portals: No less than 37 percent* of all readers\nstate that they are affected by this. An incredible 32 percent* confirm that\nthey probably haven\u2019t been accepted for an apartment or house in the past due\nto the fact they come from abroad and\/or do not speak German. Most cases\ninvolving discrimination are the result of private individuals who rent out just\none or a few apartments, but they also stem from employees at private housing corporations,\nreal estate agents and state-run (i.e. municipal) housing associations. It\u2019s\nworth repeating: Things are bad enough as it is for native Germans \u2013 but for\npeople without German citizenship and lacking German language skills it is nigh\non impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what can\nyou do as an employer if you want to hire staff from abroad and want to support\nthem as they look for an apartment to live in? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can, for\ninstance, help them set up a search profile on the relevant\nonline real estate portals. This will save your employee an enormous amount of\ntime, as it means they won\u2019t end up attending endless viewing appointments for\napartments that aren\u2019t suitable in any case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Creating a search profile
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can also\nhelp them put to together an application folder and, of course, check the small\nprint of the rental agreement when it comes to the signing of the contract \u2013\nwhich is usually in German. Although this only applies in the very unlikely\ncase that things actually progress that far. Most of the time, if a landlord\nreceives an e-mail that isn\u2019t written in German, sent by somebody with an\nexotic-sounding name, appointments don\u2019t end up being arranged in the first\nplace. The best thing you can do is prepare at least a template text for them to send\nout. And this is even more important when it comes to attending appointments in\nperson: They are usually held in German, as landlords often either think their\npoor English will embarrass them, or it really is the case that their English\nisn\u2019t good enough. If someone from your company can accompany them to the viewing\nappointment, this is ideal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What else\ncan you do, as a foreigner, to increase your prospects at a viewing\nappointment? Especially if your future employer isn\u2019t in a position to offer you\nany support? Attend as many open viewings as possible. In other words, viewing\nappointments where the place and time are stated in the advertisement itself.\nWhether you\u2019re interested in the apartment or not. It\u2019s a good way to practice.\nAnd to observe how applicants behave, how they conduct themselves, and how they\u2019re\ndressed. The trick here is not to be dressed too casually, and not to be\noverdressed either. You\u2019ll also find, at least in cities with a housing\nshortage, that any attempts to negotiate prices with the landlord are pretty\ncounterproductive. If there are ten or more applicants attending the same\nappointment as you, caution should be exercised here. And only once you\u2019ve had\na chance to get to know how viewing appointments work should you apply for an\napartment that really interests you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course,\nas an employer you can take advantage of the services provided by a relocation\nagency like PROGEDO when looking for accommodation. We can take care of\neverything that\u2019s necessary to find an attractive permanent residence for your\nemployee: so-called Expectation Management, preparing them for what they can realistically\nexpect from Germany\u2019s residential market, for profiling for the online portals,\nsearching for an apartment, contacting the landlord by e-mail or phone,\narranging appointments, and all the necessary dealings with real estate agents\nand landlords. Of course, compiling documents for applicants, accompanying them\nto viewing appointments if so desired, and walking them through the most\nimportant parts of the rental contract are also all among the services we\noffer. More and more expats are booking this service privately with us. We owe\nour success rate of almost 100 percent to our 25 years of experience, and the\ntrusting relationships we have built up over this time with the people and\npoints of contact along the way that matter. And helping employers and those\nindividuals affected is of course a great pleasure each and every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Source: Hamburger\nAbendblatt <\/em>newspaper<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why is it so difficult for an expat who doesn\u2019t speak German to get accepted as the new tenant of a sought-after rental apartment? And what can you do, as an employer and employee, to secure success despite these odds?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[133,233],"yoast_head":"\nDiscrimination on Germany\u2019s residential market? - Expat Life in Germany - PROGEDO relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discrimination on Germany\u2019s residential market? - Expat Life in Germany - PROGEDO relocation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.relocation.de\/en\/discrimination-on-germanys-residential-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discrimination on Germany\u2019s residential market? - Expat Life in Germany - PROGEDO relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discrimination on Germany\u2019s residential market? 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