Turks in Germany face discrimination when applying for housing

New research in Germany has revealed that Turks responding to housing ads have a higher rejection rate than those with German or other foreign names.

Public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk and Der Spiegel magazine collaborated on the research, sending applications with Turkish, Arab, Polish, German, and Italian names to housing ads posted online.

The research covered housing in 10 major cities across Germany.

In order to keep other variables equal, all the applications were from people in similar economic circumstances and with a good level of German.

Applications were then sent to 20,000 rental houses posted on the internet, and the 8,000 replies to those applications were analyzed in terms of the applicants' nationality.

While applicants with German names had almost no rejections, 27 percent of those with Arab names were rejected, followed by 24 percent of Turkish names, 18 percent of Polish names and 8 percent of Italian names.

Applicants with foreign names were particularly unlikely to be accepted into homes rented by private individuals, while Turkish and Arab men were less likely to be accepted than women of the same nationality.

Among the 10 cities included in the research, Munich and Frankfurt were the worst for discrimination.

Der Spiegel added that this discrimination was likely to increase when applicants meet landlords or estate agents in person.