Greg Rutherford – the Olympic athlete who bears a striking resemblence to Neil Patrick Harris – had a pair of friends looking for housing in Clapham, south London. The couple, who are gay men, found a promising ad through Gumtree, but when they contacted the landlord they received a less than hospitable (though polite) response:

A friend of my GF is moving to London. He’s gay. He, with his boyfriend, enquired about a house share. The response? pic.twitter.com/Akexd4TLXy

— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) October 1, 2014

“Hi guys, sorry but we are looking for a regular couple. Thanks for understanding.”

George Poole, one of the two men denied housing, said when he spoke with the Standard:

It is weird – it is so backward. We all come into this world as equals so why can we not all be treated as equals? Especially somewhere like London – you would not expect that. And Clapham itself is generally considered quite gay friendly.

Unfortunately for the landlord, denying housing based on orientation runs afoul of the Equality Act 2010 which makes such a denial illegal, so turbulent times may be in his near future.