A landlord is seeking tenants but has a rather restrictive condition – they can’t cook meat or fish in the apartment building.
According to The New York Times (NYT), a real estate listing in Brooklyn advertised two sunny, wide brick townhouse apartments in Fort Greene with plenty of outdoor space, valued at $4,500 (£3,500) and $5,750 (£4,485) a month.
But one policy would probably put a lot of renters off.
The rental broker, Andrea Kelly, told the publication why the landlord insisted on the cooking clause.
“It’s not vegetarian-only, but the owner lives in the building and doesn’t want the smell of cooking meat drifting upstairs,” she said, according to the NYT.
While takeaway is fine, cooking a roast on a Sunday is not.
Lucas A. Ferrara, an adjunct professor at New York Law School and co-author of the book Landlord and Tenant Practice in New York, said that while the landlord was legally entitled to add the clause, tenants could challenge it on the proviso that they have a medical condition that requires them to eat meat.
“Absent an exception of that type,” Ferrara wrote. “The restriction would otherwise be permissible.”
In 2019, a house in Melbourne, Australia, was advertised on Gumtree seeking vegan tenants
“House is only for vegan family and no other food or beverages allowed in the house,” the Gumtree ad for the Frankston rental read.
For mum, Janice, the restriction was too much.
She told A Current Affair that anyone with more than two kids is already “competing with families constantly” and doesn’t need another hurdle to finding a home.
“Why should I be discriminated against just because I like pork roast?”
And last month, a neighbourly dispute made headlines when a vegan issued a “last warning” over a barbecue and the smell of cooking meat.
Earlier, the neighbour, in Perth, Australia, had sent a letter requesting a side window is shut when cooking: “My family are vegan and the smell of the meat you cook makes us feel sick and upset.”
Related: Woman who fell through window trying to break into house comes forward on national television