A renter has been left stunned after receiving a “racist” four-word response from a landlord when they requested to view a room.
The anonymous renter had found a double room for rent in Walthamstow, northeast London, on Spare Room and messaged the poster with details about themselves.
They provided their name, age, and mentioned working as a hospitality manager while expressing interest in viewing the room.
Days later, they received a curt reply from the landlord, who asked: “What nationality are you?”
Shocked by the brief response, the renter shared their outrage on Reddit.
A renter has been left stunned after receiving a ‘racist’ four-word response from a landlord when they requested to view a room
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“Seriously, that’s your first question?” the renter wrote, prompting a pile-on against the landlord.
Some commenters voiced their outrage – with comments including: “This should be reported. These types of questions are discriminatory,” and “That’s disgusting.”
Another user wrote: “Oh my days, it’s like the opposite of ‘how to say you’re racist without actually saying you’re racist’ to basically just stating that you are a flat-out racist.”
But some defended the landlord’s query – pointing to rental requirements under English law.
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Some commenters have defended the landlord’s query – pointing to rental requirements under English law
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“Although he sounds quite direct, is there any chance it’s linked to the Right to Rent? I always included my nationalities and confirmed right to rent in my initial requests,” one user pointed out.
In England, landlords are legally required to verify tenants have the Right to Rent before letting a property.
British and Irish citizens can prove this with passport details, while non-citizens must show immigration documents confirming their right to live in the country.
If someone has the Right to Rent, it is illegal for landlords to discriminate based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or pregnancy.
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But that did not convince commenters – with many sounding sceptical of the landlord’s motives, suggesting better phrasing was possible.
“If you want to be direct, then you say: ‘Do you have citizenship or the legal right to remain in the country? Sorry I have to ask as I am legally required to check,'” one user suggested.
Another added: “I feel they could’ve phrased it: ‘Do you have legal right to rent in the UK?’ This just feels a tad loaded to me.”
