Notaries and real estate agents in the municipalities of Dilbeek, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Overijse and Grimbergen will now hand non-Dutch-speaking customers an information brochure. In four languages it will explain why it is so important to learn Dutch, the official language of this area. The leaflet is an initiative of the Province of Flemish Brabant that is eager to encourage the integration of non-Dutch-speakers.
Dutch is important to build a new life in the Flemish Rand
“When you come and live here, and buy or rent a property, you end up at an estate agent’s or at a notary’s,” explains Gunther Coppens of the Province of Flemish Brabant. “Estate agents are customer-oriented and quickly switch to another language, if the client is a non-Dutch speaker. But it is crucial that the person moving in knows that Dutch is important to build a life here. It is necessary if you want to find a job and follow your children’s activities at school.”
Foreign speakers with interpreters at estate agents
Pieter Pické has an estate agent’s in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw and he thinks the information brochure is a good idea. “At the estate agent’s we are sometimes confronted with people who even need an interpreter to understand what is in their purchasing agreement, when they want to buy a property. The brochure is a subtle way of showing them that knowing Dutch can help them make progress.”
The province wants to invite all Flemish Brabantine municipalities to join the project, and also to provide an information brochure at notaries and estate agent’s.
