During the past 5 years the number of people looking for a house or flat to rent in Flanders has doubled. Meanwhile, the number of properties available for rent has fallen and this has fueled a sharp rise in the level of rent demanded by landlords that are still letting their properties.
Eva and Lise are both single mums and both have 2 children. They are in secure employment with a good wage and have savings to fall back on. Nevertheless, they both had difficulty finding a new home after they got divorced.
Foreign surnames and being single disadvantageous
In the space of a year Eva visited no fewer than 47 properties that were up for rent. In all cases the owners refused to let her their property. Many landlords would prefer not to have a single person with 2 children as their tenant. They quite openly ask how someone in that position would be able to pay the rent. Moreover, Eva has a foreign surname she say that this puts her at a disadvantage. She is often told by landlords that they don’t let to foreigners.
"It’s only when I tell them that I have savings from the sale of our house that I am invited for a visit”.
Eventually, Eva went to the local Social Services and Welfare (OCMW). They gave here a list with properties for rent. "But all of these were properties that I had already showed an interest in."
Eventually OCMW suggested that she moved into a centre for the homeless temporarily.
"I have just divorced, but I have a job and savings, yet they suggested a homeless shelter. Then I thought to myself ‘enough is enough’”. It was only after a year on intensive searching that Eva was able to find a decent property to rent. “I am so grateful that someone wanted to give me a chance”.
Lise is a single mother with a secure job as a teacher. She had a similar experience when she was looking for a home for herself and her two children.
"Landlords prefer to let their properties to a couple with 2 incomes. I wrote loads of letters saying why I wanted to rent the home and put my best foot forward as if I was applying for the job of a lifetime. Eventually, it was a letter of reference from my employer that forced a breakthrough. After a 9-month search, I found a new house”.
VRT’s consumer team investigates
The VRT’s consumer programme WinWin investigated whether Eva and Lise’s experiences were the exception or the rule. Finding a property to rent is not an easy task and of the 45 properties that the WinWin team showed an interest in invitations were sent for them to visit just 16 of them.
Kristophe Thijs of the CIB property network confirms that there is an issue. "We are aware of instances where people were looking for a property to rent for 2 years. 1 in 3 Flemings are single and this puts you at a disadvantage on the rental market. Landlords are more included to opt for the candidate tenant with the most financial means, for the person whom they are certain will be able to pay the rent”.
Moreover, there is a lot of competition for rented properties. One real estate agent told the VRT that 150 candidates for the same house or flat is no exception.
More people renting on the private rental market
During the past 5 years the number of people hoping to rent a home on the private rental market has doubled in Flanders. In urban areas the number of candidate tenants has even tripled. However, the number of properties available for rent has not kept pace. Quite the contrary is true in fact.
Kristophe Thijs says that the growing number of single-person households explains is one explanation for the big increase in the number of people wishing to rent property. Furthermore, a growing number of people over the age of 60 are deciding to sell property that has become too large for their needs and in some cases are opting to rent rather than to buy a smaller home.
However, the most important reason for the increase in the number of people looking for a home on the private rental market is a shortage of social housing.
"There is a big influx of people onto the private rental market that are entitled to social housing. There are currently 200,000 families on the waiting list for social housing in Flanders”.
Fewer homes on the private rental market
In addition to the rise in the number of people wishing to rent a property, there are fewer homes available on the private rental market.
Kristophe Thijs says that this is because there are fewer people buying a second property to put out for rent as an investment. This is due to the abolition of tax breaks for people that buy second homes.
CIB believes that the number of homes available on the private rental market will fall further due to stricter energy efficiency rules. The cost of carrying out renovation work on properties to make them more energy efficient is likely to lead to some landlords deciding to sell up.
“We are already seeing people selling property they had previously put out for rent”, Kristophe Thijs said.
Tenants staying for longer
In addition to this, private rental properties are also being occupied for longer by the same tenant.
“The average tenancy used to be two years, it is now twice that. Finally, there is also competition from rental platforms such as Airbnb. Some landlords find it more lucrative to rent out their properties via that kind of platform.”
25% rise in rents during the past 5 years
During the past 5 years the average rent paid for a house or flat has risen by 25%. 5 years ago the average rent in Flanders was 717 euro/month. This has since risen to 893 euro/month.