Tenant selection

1. Why this page exists

Dutch law requires anyone who lets or helps let housing on a commercial basis to have a written working method for preventing discrimination, to publish it, to state the selection criteria in advance, and to give a reason to applicants who are turned down. This is that document.

It is also here for a practical reason. International students are turned away from Rotterdam housing for reasons nobody writes down. Publishing the criteria makes them arguable.

2. The criteria we apply

When more than one person wants the same home, these are the only things that count, in this order:

1. Whether the application is complete. Name, contact details, what you study and where, move-in date, and how long you intend to stay.
2. Whether the move-in date and length of stay fit what the landlord is offering. A landlord letting from 1 September for two years is not a match for someone who needs a place in January for four months.
3. Whether you can pay the rent. Evidence of income, a student loan or grant, savings, a scholarship, or a guarantor. We accept guarantors and evidence from outside the Netherlands. We do not require a Dutch employment contract.
4. The order in which complete applications arrived. Where two applications are equal on the points above, the earlier one goes first.

A landlord may add a requirement that follows from the home itself, such as a no-smoking rule, a limit on the number of occupants set by a permit, or a shared house choosing its own housemate. Any such requirement is stated in the listing before you apply.

3. What we never use

These play no part in any decision, and we will not pass on a landlord's instruction that relies on them:

• Nationality, ethnicity, skin colour, or where you or your parents were born
• Religion or belief
• Sex, gender identity or sexual orientation
• Disability or chronic illness
• Political opinion, or membership of a union or association
• Whether you speak Dutch
• Your name, or how it sounds

If a landlord asks us to filter on any of these, we refuse and remove the listing. If you think that has happened to you, tell us, and you can also report it to the City of Rotterdam's meldpunt.

4. How the process runs

1. The listing states the rent, the deposit, the move-in date, the length of stay and any requirement set by the home itself.
2. You apply through us in writing. We do not run first-come-first-served viewings, and we do not hold auctions on rent.
3. We check applications against the criteria in section 2 and pass the ones that fit to the landlord, along with the evidence you supplied.
4. The landlord chooses from that group. They may interview you first.
5. Everyone who applied is told the outcome.

5. If you are turned down

Ask us and we will tell you which criterion you did not meet, in writing, within five working days. You can ask us to correct anything we got wrong about your application and to reconsider it.

6. What landlords agree to

Every landlord accepts this page as part of the landlord agreement before we film. That means they accept the criteria, the ban in section 3, and the duty to give a reason for a rejection.

7. Complaints

Write to rotterdam@mello-housing.nl and we will answer within five working days. If you are not satisfied, you can report it to the City of Rotterdam through its meldpunt for ongewenst verhuurgedrag, and you can go to the Dutch anti-discrimination service or to court. Using our complaints route does not affect either of those rights.