As the Service was told by the complainant, while trying to rent an apartment, he indicated that he was a foreigner and provided information about his financial situation and income. The agent informed the man that the apartment was rented only to Lithuanians but promised to talk to the owner, according to a press release from the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson Service.
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After some time, the foreigner was asked to specify his nationality. When the man replied that he was Persian, the agent later informed him that the accommodation was rented to another person. The foreigner believes that even after proving he could be a solvent client, he did not get the accommodation precisely because of his nationality.
When the Service contacted the MB “Patera” represented by the agent, it acknowledged that the phrase about preferences for Lithuanians was inappropriate. However, the company denied that housing rentals were selected based on nationality or origin and stated that the decision regarding the complainant was made by the property owner.
According to the Head of the Service’s Legal Group, Audronė Daukšaitė-Timpė, the legislation not only prohibits refusing to provide a service solely because of a person’s nationality or race but also prohibits expressing restrictions or privileges for certain groups of people in information about services.
“In this case, there was not enough data to prove that the complainant was denied housing solely because of his nationality, but a violation of equal opportunities was established due to discriminatory information provision,” explained the lawyer.
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For failure to comply with the obligations set out in the Equal Opportunities Act, the Service issued a warning to MB “Patera”.
A. Daukšaitė-Timpė reminded that it is prohibited to refuse to rent residential premises not only because of a person’s nationality or race but also because of marital status, disability, gender, and other grounds of personal identity enshrined in the Equal Opportunities Act. Discriminatory housing rental advertisements are also prohibited.
Last year, a study conducted by the Service showed that a large proportion of foreigners arriving in Lithuania face difficulties finding housing, are forced to live in overcrowded, lower-quality housing, pay more for housing, and rent without an official contract.
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