Not really. Try to rent an apartment in Germany (any EU country really).
Canada / USA is a breeze in comparison.
I moved to Switzerland and all I needed was a clean debt register entry and my employer contract.
And then every year after that they required another 12 months rent up front, when it came to the annual tenancy renewal. Track record of paying the rent wasn't good enough to prove that I could keep paying the rent.
You have a deposit, typically three months rent, that's typically enough to indicate whether or not you're able to pay rent.
They absolutely do in Germany and Austria. Renting is almost impossible without pay slips from LOCAL employers. Pay slips from your previous EU country don't count. So relocating is a huge bitch.
>Whether or not you can pay rent is entirely your problem (North EU).
It immediately becomes the landlord's problem here when they're legally not allowed to evict you once you stop paying rent. So they're trying to be 110% sure you're the ideal tenant who always pays on time. Especially since for many private landlords the rent you pay them is also their mortgage payment to the bank.
>You have a deposit, typically three months rent, that's typically enough to indicate whether or not you're able to pay rent.
Deposits don't mean you're able to keep paying rent since that deposit might be borrowed money or from illicit activities. Landlords want to see stable employment (well known employer, that you're past probation period, etc), not that you have a lot of random money in your pocket when you sign the contract.
I don't support this status quo, but it is what it is because it's a sellers' market and governments don't want to change that.
This doesn't sound right. In which "North EU" country sis this BTW?
Been a while for me but afaik nothing has changed: if you lived and worked here before, then a couple of your last salary statements are sufficient (bar the problem of actually finding anything and being accepted, but that is besides the point).
So I am definitely not loving or defending this, but afaik compared to needing years of time to build your credit score in a "smart" way (and by hearsay I would probably mess it up, "just be employed for 3 months" sounds very easy to do?
It isn't besides the point at all. It being a seller's market means landlords can and do ask for whatever paperwork they want which often enough includes a SCHUFA report. You can choose to not provide it but they can also choose to rent to someone else who does.
