Gent halts student housing fraud with digital verification
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In Gent, Belgium, city officials now require landlords offering student housing to verify their identities digitally, using eID or itsme.
This change aimed to stop fraudulent rental listings that often target international students searching for rooms online. Since implementing the requirement last year, Gent has seen a 20% increase in the number of verified rooms available through its online “Kotenzoeker” platform, now listing 5,082 rooms.
The city introduced the digital check to assure renters that landlords have been verified by the local government. Previously, false advertisements on social media had led to scams, with some victims losing thousands of euros to fraudsters asking for advance payments for nonexistent rooms. City officials report no new fraud cases involving rooms advertised through the verified platform. Gent also offers an English-language version of the platform to better serve international students.
Approximately 100 new landlords are registering to offer rooms through the city’s platform each year, including both individual owners and large student housing companies.
