Hey guys!

Been trying to find an apartment to rent for last 2 months but never got further as getting asked for ID and proof of income

I think its caused by the language barrier as I do not speak French nor Dutch, what is the best shot for me to actually get the apartment? Tried immoweb.be and similar websites but as i said, if I get lucky I get response (probably automated) asking for ID and proof of income, after sending my Czech ID and Paycheck slip in Czech, never got reply…. Would be a good idea of looking for some Real estate agent specialised on the province Im looking to rent the apartment at (Flanders), calling them and asking for assistance? Thank you in advance.

by e-tim

6 comments

  1. Find some co-housing, shared rental until you settle and have a Belgian payslip. People do not know you and simply do not want to take the risk. Word of mouth is still more powerful in Belgium if you compare with Immoweb.

  2. It technically is illegal to discriminate against ethnicity when renting, but is often hard to prove and police. There will definitely be owners who will simply refuse you for not being Belgian.

    Another thing is that your payslip is Czech, and thus is probably for a Czech company. The owner will wonder how you will continue working/ making an income once you are in Belgium. Their main concern is that once the rent to you, you will continue to be able to pay rent.

    Real estate agencies are often very regional here in Belgium. You’ll need to be more specific than “Flanders” for a recommendation of which ones may or may not be able to help you.

    I had to look for a place to rent 5 years ago as a Belgian citizen after having lived abroad for a while. It was challenging even in my situation, without a Belgian payslip/proof of income, and required me explaining my situation, and proving I had some money set aside to cover rent for the first 6-8 months even if I had no income.

    I did find my house through immoweb though. Most real estate agents will post on immo sites to attract potential renters, so you won’t find new places, but they may be able to help bridge the communication gap.

  3. Few things:

    1) try facebook groups, it will be much easier to find appartements as people will be able to see your profile (and thus have more trust that you are not a scammer)
    2) Where in Flanders? In Belgian terms, you are telling us that you are looking for a house in an area that’s 220 km width and 80 km long. It is like saying I am looking for a house in Bohemia.
    3) there is a growing housing crisis, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t get immediately something, especially in the Leuven-Brussels & Ghent area. Most of us young people have to cohouse to be able to live alone, because housing has become so goddamn expensive.

  4. If you can’t figure this out by yourself you don’t have much of a future here. Unless there is some humanitarian disaster going on in Czechia that I am unaware of, language courses and translator apps are available there too.

  5. Your payslip needs to be in euros and in French, Dutch or English.

    Landlords are unlikely to take someone who earns in a foreign currency due to exchange rate risk. And a document in a language they can’t read or verify.

  6. We’d love it if you could share your post on r/BEReal_estate. We are building a community dedicated to discussion of real estate in Belgium. Thanks.

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