Short Answer
Refusing to rent an apartment to you based explicitly on your nationality or ethnic origin directly violates the General Act on Equal Treatment. The law categorically prohibits real estate listings or communications from excluding applicants based on their background.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You applied for a flat and received a clear response stating the owner was exclusively seeking native residents. You deleted the message out of sheer frustration and moved on to other listings, unaware that the message constituted a clear statutory violation. You lost a potential court-ordered compensation package worth up to three months of rent because you failed to preserve the physical evidence of the communication.
What To Do
- Save a digital screenshot of the discriminatory property ad or email communication right away.
- Contact the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency to submit your saved documentation for a free assessment.
- "Ich fordere Schadensersatz wegen Diskriminierung nach dem AGG." (I demand damages for discrimination under the AGG.) — instruct a specialized lawyer to send this formal claim within two months of the incident.
The Truth
Germany prohibits discriminatory practices, but many landlords still use language requirements or credit histories as proxies to filter out international applicants. Since small-scale property owners have significant legal leeway, proving explicit bias is a difficult administrative battle.