These guidelines were established to regulate the allocation of rental housing to potential tenants in accordance with the Good Landlord Act. The goal is to provide transparency to all parties involved in the process and preventhousing discrimination.
Definitions:
Rental Agent: la Fontaine Makelaardij or an individual within la Fontaine Makelaardij, with the legal authority to rent homes on behalf of a client.
Client: The owner or owners of the property who engage the rental agent to represent them and represent their interests in the rental of the property.
Prospective tenant or potential tenant: This is a person or entity that has expressed interest in a property offered by the rental agent on behalf of the client.
Purpose of mediation:
The client’s goal is to rent the relevant rental property to the most suitable prospective tenant. This is a potential tenant for whom it is as plausible as possible that they can correctly and timely fulfill all obligations under a lease and at the most appropriate time. The distinction between prospective tenants is made by objective justification. Distinguishing between prospective tenants serves a legitimate purpose and the rental agent will act appropriately and proportionately.
Basic information to be obtained from the prospective tenant:
No information is requested about personal backgrounds such as ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or health.
Criteria taken into account for allocation:
1. Response Time
Basically, rental agent will schedule viewings in order of receipt of complete and approved information about the prospective tenant.
If there is a lot of interest, a viewings stop may be scheduled.
2. Source of income/type of employment contract
Permanent employment with reliable employers is preferred; this gives the landlord the most security.
Other sources of income can also lead to allocation, but this requires specific considerations. These may include: internship allowance, alimony, inheritance, temporary employment contract, equity, pension or self-employment. Because less financial security applies here, allocation of rental housing based on these income sources is always customized.
3. Level of income
The minimum required income combined with steady employment are the most common requirements in an initial selection.
4. Positive rental history
Preference for candidates with a good and verifiable landlord certificate. If the prospective tenant has never rented before or is unable to provide proof, this will be customized.
5. Solvency and identity verification
Allocation is subject to successful financial and identity verification. To verify this, the rental agent conducts a thorough screening process.
This includes a manual ID check by la Fontaine Makelaardij. The outcome of this screening may be grounds for rejecting a prospective tenant, even after a provisional allocation.
6. Household composition
An appropriate composition per dwelling is taken into account to avoid problems such as overcrowding and nuisance. This is customized for each home, and depends on the right match between number of residents and the type of home. Sometimes a certain household composition is preferred.
7. Suitability in (the vicinity of) the property offered
Depending on the location and characteristics of the property, certain candidates may be preferred.
8. Awarding client
The final choice lies with the client without influence from the rental agent.
The client has the freedom to enter into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant or not.
9. Students
Within a VVE building, there are often rules prohibiting the sharing of a dwelling between residents who do not form a permanent household. An environmental permit is required to rent a dwelling to multiple residents who do not form a permanent household.
Concluding:
The letting agent distances itself from any form of discrimination and bears no responsibility for the actions of landlords. Also, in accordance with privacy laws, the rental broker is not authorized to provide personal information of prospective tenants to third parties.
