{"id":2248,"date":"2012-08-14T12:01:18","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T12:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/?p=2248"},"modified":"2026-04-05T06:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:16:00","slug":"equality-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/equality-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Flatmate Ad Breaking the Law?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2248\" class=\"elementor elementor-2248\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fce35c1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fce35c1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f1ad002 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f1ad002\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header-bg-1024x665.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6483\" alt=\"flatmate ad and sticker on street pole\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header-bg-1024x665.webp 1024w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header-bg-300x195.webp 300w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header-bg-768x499.webp 768w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header-bg-1080x701.webp 1080w, https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header-bg.webp 1341w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50da4758 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"50da4758\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-23233595 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"23233595\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Here&#8217;s something worth thinking about before you hit publish on your next flatmate listing.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">We came across a story that originally ran in the UK involving flatmate ads that were inadvertently, and in some cases very deliberately, crossing the line into illegal discrimination territory. The short version: people were writing ads specifically requesting a &#8220;gay flatmate&#8221; or filtering out applicants based on sexuality, religion, age, or ethnicity. Turns out, under the UK&#8217;s Equality Act 2010, that&#8217;s not okay. The law bars anyone renting or subletting a property from discriminating against or victimising prospective tenants based on religion, race, age, marital status, sexuality, or physical ability. <span class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"><a class=\"group\/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.advocate.com\/society\/law\/2012\/07\/03\/classified-ads-seeking-gay-roommates-are-illegal-britain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover\/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover\/tag:border-accent-100\/60\"><span class=\"text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover\/tag:text-text-200\">Advocate<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span> Even if your intentions were good, even if you were trying to create a welcoming space, specifying who you want based on those characteristics is still a breach.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Now here&#8217;s the thing. This isn&#8217;t just a UK problem.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>It applies here too.<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">In Australia, the rules are just as clear. It is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of protected attributes including age, disability, race, sex, intersex status, gender identity, and sexual orientation in certain areas of public life. <span class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"><a class=\"group\/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ag.gov.au\/rights-and-protections\/human-rights-and-anti-discrimination\/australias-anti-discrimination-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover\/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover\/tag:border-accent-100\/60\"><span class=\"text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover\/tag:text-text-200\">Attorney-General&#8217;s Department<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span> And rental advertising is one of those areas. It is against the law for a landlord or real estate agent to discriminate when rental accommodation is advertised, for example, an ad that says people of a particular ethnic group cannot apply. <span class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"><a class=\"group\/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tenants.org.au\/factsheet-discrimination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover\/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover\/tag:border-accent-100\/60\"><span class=\"text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover\/tag:text-text-200\">Tenants&#8217; Union of NSW<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span> The same principle applies to individual room-seekers posting their own listings.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">In New South Wales specifically, these protections are enforced under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977. <span class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"><a class=\"group\/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tenants.org.au\/factsheet-discrimination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover\/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover\/tag:border-accent-100\/60\"><span class=\"text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover\/tag:text-text-200\">Tenants&#8217; Union of NSW<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span> Queensland has its own equivalent legislation, and similar protections exist across every state and territory. New Zealand follows the same general principle under the Human Rights Act 1993.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>So what does this mean in practice for your flatmate ad?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">It&#8217;s more straightforward than you might think. You can absolutely describe yourself, your lifestyle, your household vibe. That&#8217;s encouraged. Love hosting dinner parties? Say so. Non-smoking household? Fine. Work early shifts and need quiet nights? Put it in there. These kinds of descriptions naturally attract people who are compatible, without you having to filter anyone out based on who they are.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">What gets you into trouble is when you start specifying the type of person you want in ways that relate to protected characteristics. Saying &#8220;LGBTQ+ friendly household&#8221; as a descriptor about your home&#8217;s culture is very different from saying &#8220;gay flatmates preferred.&#8221; Similarly, saying &#8220;this is a vegetarian household&#8221; is fine. Saying &#8220;no Christians&#8221; is not.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">There is also a nuance worth knowing: the law is slightly different depending on whether you live in the property or not. If you&#8217;ll be sharing the space yourself, you are allowed to have certain preferences, but that flexibility does not extend to race or nationality under any circumstances. <span class=\"inline-flex\" data-state=\"closed\"><a class=\"group\/tag relative h-[18px] rounded-full inline-flex items-center overflow-hidden -translate-y-px cursor-pointer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spareroom.co.uk\/content\/default\/discrimination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"relative transition-colors h-full max-w-[180px] overflow-hidden px-1.5 inline-flex items-center font-small rounded-full border-0.5 border-border-300 bg-bg-200 group-hover\/tag:bg-accent-900 group-hover\/tag:border-accent-100\/60\"><span class=\"text-nowrap text-text-300 break-all truncate font-normal group-hover\/tag:text-text-200\">SpareRoom<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>The simple rule of thumb<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">If you&#8217;re not sure whether what you&#8217;re about to write in your listing is crossing a line, just leave it out. Describe your home. Describe your lifestyle. Let the right person find you through shared values and vibe rather than demographic filtering.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The goal of a flatmate ad is to find someone you&#8217;ll genuinely get along with. The good news is you can absolutely achieve that without ever needing to mention someone&#8217;s religion, background, age, or sexuality.<\/p><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Write about you. The rest tends to sort itself out.<\/p><hr class=\"border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5\" \/><p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><em>If you&#8217;ve experienced discrimination in rental advertising or during your housing search, the Australian Human Rights Commission and your state&#8217;s anti-discrimination body are good starting points for support and advice.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8337063 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8337063\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f92761 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"6f92761\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;youtube_url&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/youtu.be\\\/i6oPWh_gJoc&quot;,&quot;cc_load_policy&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;youtube&quot;,&quot;controls&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-video\"><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s something worth thinking about before you hit publish on your next flatmate listing. We came across a story that originally ran in the UK involving flatmate ads that were inadvertently, and in some cases very deliberately, crossing the line [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[479],"tags":[118,142,119,13,26],"class_list":["post-2248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-find-a-flatmate","tag-equality","tag-flatmate-wanted","tag-gay","tag-looking-for-a-flatmate","tag-your-rights"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>There are some serious equality laws to follow.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you don&#039;t want to get in trouble for breaking the law then you absolutely must know about these equality laws surrounding equality laws to get a flatmate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flatmate.com\/blog\/equality-laws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Your &quot;flatmate wanted&quot; 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