Landlord condemned for homophobia

28 April 2005

BRUSSELS – A Brussels landlord has been told he cannot discriminate against a homosexual couple in a landmark court ruling.

The court in Nivelles upheld the gay couple’s right to rent an apartment after the landlord told the estate agents that he wanted to let out the flat to a “traditional couple.”

He faces a EUR 100 fine if he does not comply with the ruling in future.

The two men in question had asked an estate agent in 2004 to find them an apartment in the suburbs of Brussels.

Having found the apartment of their choice, they put down a deposit equivalent to one month’s rent.

But after protests from the landlord, they took their case to the centre for equal opportunities, who brought it to court.

The court based its ruling on a 2003 anti-discrimination law that upholds the principle of equal treatment in employment or the renting of goods and property.

The law forbids all types of discrimination based on race, colour, national and ethnic origins and sexual orientation.

Subject: Belgian news