Backlash over woman's ad for 'straight gender' flatmate in Christchurch

The woman's controversial flatmate-wanted ad has since been deleted. File Photo / Jay Wennington / Unsplash

By Louis Day, of Star News

A woman looking for a flatmate online has received a barrage of backlash after saying applicants had to be of "straight gender".

The woman, who recently moved to Christchurch from Auckland, posted in a community Facebook group that she had a spare room available to rent in the three-bedroom home she was living in with her son.

Within the post, she said applicants "must be straight gender as we are Christians and have our beliefs".

This attracted a lot of criticism. The post has since been deleted.

Speaking to The Star, the woman said while she was "sincerely sorry" for the upset she had caused, she stood by her views.

"I just did not want two people of the same gender making out in front of my son.

"It is okay for them to be like that, but it is just not who we are, I just don't want it in our home," she said.

The woman, who is a tenant at the property, was looking for a sub-tenant to rent a bedroom from her, technically making her a sub-landlord.

Tenancy.co.nz managing director and lawyer Scotney Williams said her relationship as a sub-landlord to the prospective flatmate fell outside the restrictions of the Residential Tenancies Act.

This meant she was not bound by the same rules around discrimination landlords were when looking to sign individuals on to rental agreements.

Rainbow Youth executive director Frances Arns thought the behaviour was disappointing, and an example of the reality queer New Zealanders live with.

"It is really sad and awful to hear this story and not surprising to us," she said.

"These are the stories we hear our young people experience on a daily basis with things like housing and even employment."

- Star News