At Haugerud in Oslo, several trucks are lined up. Medin Hasan proudly shows the children the truck that he will drive in his new job. – Do you also want to be a lorry driver, asks dad as he lifts up the youngest five-year-old. – Yes, Mohammad cheers back. For two years, Medin has been trying to get a job as a truck driver in the Lillehammer area, where the family settled after fleeing war in Syria in 2015. He has not been able to get it. Then came the offer of a permanent job in the capital. He then faced a completely different challenge in the face of the tough rental market. – If I don’t get housing during the month, I will lose my job, says Medin. Blame it on too many children Since April, Medin has been trying to rent a place to live for him and his family. For him, it does not matter whether it is in Oslo, Lørenskog, Lillestrøm or elsewhere. Mohammad (5), Nada (10) and Riad (12) go to kindergarten and school in their home municipality. Now they are ready to move. Photo: Bård Nafstad In Gausdal municipality, where they now live, they have received municipal housing. But to get it in Oslo or nearby municipalities, they must have lived there for two years. He was therefore asked to obtain housing himself on the private rental market. It has been anything but simple. – I have sent over 60 messages to landlords. But when I tell them that I have three children, they reply that it is too many. Are three children too many in Norway? Some of the landlords ask where he is from. When he answers Syria, they stop answering. Here we see one of many messages Medin has sent where he does not receive a reply. – I do not know what to do. My children shouldn’t have to watch dad just sit at home all the time, he says. Medins’ biggest nightmare is sitting at home without being able to go to work. Now he has a job, but a new unexpected obstacle stands in the way of his goal. Being discriminated against in the rental market Medin and his family are not the only ones struggling to rent a place to live at the moment. Galloping prices, packed screenings and students having to move back home have been in the headlines for weeks. But for Medin and his family it is even more difficult than for others. – We know that immigrants, families with young children and low-income families are more often rejected on the rental market than others, says Jardar Sørvoll. Jardar Sørvoll researches housing policy at OsloMet. Photo: Vegar Erstad / news He researches housing policy and the rental market, among other things. – What is a big problem today is that there are very few rental properties out there. Then we see that landlords prefer to rent to women with high education and good finances, he says. The research clearly shows that people with a non-Norwegian background experience discrimination. – If you have a foreign name, you get fewer responses, he says. A survey by the Consumer Council shows that as many as two out of ten people are discriminated against when renting a home. – This is a problem which is relatively widespread in Norway, but which receives too little attention, he says. Because it is, after all, illegal, according to the Tenancy Act. But it is difficult to document that it happens. Illegal Rina Mariann Hansen is responsible for integration, work and social services in Oslo City Council. She reacts strongly to Medin’s story. – I think it is very outrageous that we have this type of discrimination in the rental market. Rina is a city councilor for work, integration and social services in Oslo (Ap). Photo: Bård Nafstad / news She describes Medin as a star example of what refugees can do when they come to Norway. – He has got himself a job, he takes responsibility for himself and his family. Then there is discrimination in the housing market which is an obstacle to him being able to live a free life, she says. – But when we know that discrimination occurs in the private sector, shouldn’t the public sector take greater responsibility to ensure that this does not happen? – We should gain more knowledge about this, and see if there are other mechanisms we can use to check that it doesn’t happen, she replies. The city council cannot assign Medin and his family council housing. He will earn too much for that. In addition, he does not fulfill the requirement of having lived in the current municipality long enough. Therefore, he falls between two chairs. – Private landlords, and especially larger landlord companies, should take responsibility, the city council believes. Can’t sleep Medin has traveled back and forth to Oslo, Lillestrøm and Lørenskog many times to go to screenings. The uncertainty means that he cannot sleep. – I am very sad. It doesn’t seem like people in Norway have that much desire to help refugees, he says despairingly. Medin thinks so much about the situation that he has developed a persistent headache. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news He was actually supposed to start work at the beginning of August, but his boss has let him use all his free time to find a place to live. Now it’s really urgent. – I have a large family, my children need clothes. I think so much that I get a headache, he says. By September 1, the family must have found a home, otherwise the job will be cancelled. – No one will help me. I think many people in Norway believe that refugees get help from the municipality or Nav, but that is not always the case, he says.
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Syrian Medin cannot rent a home – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
