Discrimination and selection in the Belgian private rental market

In this paper, the results are presented of a study on discrimination and selection in the private rental market in Belgium. In contrast to other studies on the subject, we focus on different grounds of discrimination (ethnicity, disability, and gender) and selection (financial means). Two approaches in the field of behavioral experimental testing were used to measure the degree of discrimination/selection: a telephone and an email approach. In both approaches, a different experimental design was applied, with fictitious applicants for each discrimination ground and the control group. The fictional rental home seekers asked the landlord—by phone or e-mail—if the vacant dwelling was still available and if they could make an appointment for a visit. In the telephone approach, a sample of 684 online ads was used in a paired-testing design, in which the landlords were contacted by both the control and experimental applicant. In the e-mail approach, a random-assignment design with a sample of 1769 online advertisements was used. The analyses revealed that discrimination for getting an appointment is found for each discrimination/selection ground in the email approach (only results for men), whereas people with Moroccan/Turkish names and disabled people were not found to be discriminated in the telephone approach. Furthermore, gender proved to be an important factor, as men with a Moroccan/Turkish background were discriminated in the phone-call approach (in contrast to women), whereas regarding financial means, women were treated more negatively than men.