Tindra, 18: “He looked up my Instagram”
Published 2023-12-17 10.57
Tindra Rimpilä did not receive a single serious offer when she was looking for housing. Instead, she was met with comments about her appearance and shady suggestions.
18-year-old Tindra Rimpilä graduated last spring at her home in Vaasa in Finnish Ostrobothnia. In the fall, she had decided to move to Umeå on the other side of the Baltic Sea to work and play soccer.
At the end of the summer, Tindra started looking for an apartment before the move. Because housing queues are so long, she joined a Facebook group where members looking for or renting accommodation can post ads.
Pretty soon, men started commenting on Tindra’s appearance in the comments section.
– They wrote things like “Oh, how beautiful you are”. A man looked up my Instagram and commented on a picture of me with a heart eye emoji. It felt unfunny.
“Looks like personal ads”
Tindra received contact requests from a number of men who offered her different living arrangements.
– There was an old man who was maybe 45-50 who offered me to rent his basement, but he would live in the room next door. Another man said he only wants to rent to girls and I could move into his second and sleep on the couch while he lives in the bedroom.
A recent report from the Tenants’ Association shows that six percent of young people between the ages of 20 and 27 have experienced various forms of harassment or discrimination when looking for accommodation.
Several young people harassed when looking for accommodation
The report is based on survey responses from 4,896 young adults collected representative of the target group.
The Tenants’ Association wants to overcome the problems with harassment and discrimination against young people through new regulations for landlords on the secondary market.
Gave up the housing search
For Tindra, the search for her first own apartment was not the experience she had hoped for.
Now she plays soccer and works in a hotel as a waitress and breakfast hostess. Eventually, she thinks about starting to study in the city.