An unnamed Moroccan couple have been told by a housing agency that the landlord of a property they were interested in only wants to rent to ‘people of Dutch origin’.

The letting agent from Goedhart Makelaars in the village of Rijnsaterwoude says in the email, published on website Marokko.nl, that he or she regrets having to tell them this.

‘The landlord has chosen to rent to people of Dutch origin only,’ the email states.

Contacted by broadcaster NOS, the letting agent, who is not named, said: ‘I could have told these people a load of rubbish but the owner was very explicit. We did not make this up. We don’t have any issues with people.’

Later, the agency said that the worker who sent the email had been suspended and that the couple were welcome to rent the property if it was still available.

Eastern Europe

‘The owner had problems in the past with migrants from eastern Europe who rent a lot in the locality,’ the agency is quoted as saying by broadcaster NOS. ‘They would rather have a Dutch family in the widest sense of the word and that also means Dutch Moroccan or Moroccan Dutch, however you want to say it.’

Earlier this year there was another row in Amsterdam when letting agent told a prospective tenant people who ‘cook for hours using lots of herbs’ need not apply. ‘If you cook the ‘western way’ we can offer you a viewing on Friday,’ the agency said.

The national discrimination hotline said it had 51 reports of people being refused a home on the basis of their background.