Where you live
If the employer gives you housing, it must be decent — and rent cannot trap you.
Many workers are housed by their employer, which is allowed — but your home is not a cage. New rules set minimum standards for worker accommodation, and the rent you pay must be fair, written down, and never a tool to keep you in debt or silence.
Key facts
- Employer-provided housing must meet minimum standards (space, hygiene, safety).
- Any rent taken from your wage must be agreed in writing and clearly shown.
- Overcrowded or unsafe rooms are not acceptable.
- Losing your job should not instantly put you on the street with no notice.
- Your home cannot be used to control or threaten you.
In detail
What "decent" housing means
Worker accommodation must give you enough space, working sanitation, heating, and basic safety like a way out in a fire. Packing many people into one room, broken facilities, or dangerous buildings are not legal just because you are a foreign worker. You deserve a place fit for a human being.
Rent, deposits and leaving
If rent comes out of your wage, the amount must be reasonable and written in an agreement you understood. An employer cannot charge you a huge "rent" to claw back your pay, nor keep deposits forever. If you leave the job, you are entitled to fair notice about the housing — not to be thrown out the same night to scare you.
Warning signs
- Ten people share a room meant for two.
- "Rent" eats most of your wage with no clear agreement.
- The building is unsafe, dirty, or has no heating.
- You are told to leave your home the moment you complain.
What you can do
- Take photos of conditions and your room.
- Get the rent amount in writing; check your payslip for it.
- Report unsafe housing — it is a health and safety matter.
- If you are suddenly evicted, contact the Ombudsman or an NGO fast.