Man rejected from flatshare for being gay
Oliver Barter was told the prospective housemate would “prefer a straight individual”.
Mr Barter, a copywriter from London, tweeted he’d had “more flat hunting hell” after he was told he was being rejected for being gay. However, he was glad he’d “dodged a bullet” and explained this was why he mentioned being gay in his applications.
The response to his inquiry about a room read: “Hi Olly, apologies for the late reply. It looks like one flatmate would prefer a straight individual. It is terrible, but it is something this person would not negotiate… really sorry, good luck with your search…”
More flat-hunting hell. This is why I mention I’m gay in my enquiries. Dodged a bullet. #gayboyproblems #homophobia pic.twitter.com/MxHb9UccvQ
— Olly Barter (@OllyBarter) March 31, 2015
He later tweeted: “I’m shocked but I’d rather ‘out’ myself and that happen than face a potentially dangerous situation later.”
He told PinkNews: “There’s been a lot of support from people who sympathise with the situation. It’s a mixture of outrage and disbelief. If I focus on the positive then it’s lovely to see that people are surprised by the fact this could even happen in London, in 2015.
“I’m also pleased to see that not many LGBT renters have faced these issues. Having said that… even if this happens once, it is one time too many. I’ve had legal advice, offers of help and leads from a number of people on Twitter, including George Poole, who had a similar incident happen to him and his boyfriend last year. This has led to a viewing, so one way or another I’ll be living in South West London soon!
“The most remarkable part of the whole thing is that there have been no Twitter trolls yet. I’m probably tempting fate by mentioning it.”
