London landlord ‘posted Gumtree ad banning gay and lesbian tenants’
The advert was for a room in Mitcham, south London (Wiki Commons)
A landlord has come under fire for posted a Gumtree advert which banned “gay/lesbian” tenants.
The post, which has since been taken down, was for a single room in Mitcham, south London.
“I can’t believe something as despicable as this can be used as an advert,” one social media user wrote on Twitter.
Another added: “I’d rather know that they’re a homophobic dinosaur before I handed over any monies OR moved in!”
One person said: “I’m on benefits, gay AND trans. Bet they’d spontaneously combust if I inquire.
Discrimination against anyone because of their sexual orientation is illegal under the Equality Act 2010.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson told the Daily Mail that they were aware of the online advert but nobody had formally reported any allegations in relation to it.
A spokesperson for Gumtree said: “In line with the Equalities Act, we do not allow any unlawful or discriminatory ads on Gumtree.
The room was advertised online (Gumtree)
“Any ads that discriminate against potential tenants based on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation will be removed.
“We encourage our online community of users to report any discriminatory or inappropriate ads to us through the ‘Report’ button that sits alongside every ad on the website, which our dedicated team will then investigate.
“We also offer an online Help Centre which includes property posting guidelines to educate users and prevent discrimination.”
Last year, a Florida landlord was been caught on camera telling a tenant to leave her property because she didn’t “want homosexuals coming in and out of my place.”
Two weeks after moving into his flat on December 1, Randal Coffman filmed his landlord Jackie Cooper telling him: “Listen to me now, you have to leave this place.
In the video, reported by First Coast News and allegedly filmed on December 15 with Cooper’s knowledge, she continues: “You didn’t tell me you’re gay until yesterday.”
Her tenant responds: “Why do I have to tell you I’m gay? I don’t have to tell you,” to which she asks: “You think I want homosexuals coming in and out of my place like that?”
Coffman claimed that Cooper started abusing him after she warned him not to invite women to his place late at night, to which he responded by telling her he was gay.
“I’ve been gay since I was born,” said Coffman. “After that, the harassment for being gay started.”
