Realtors Pay Up for Lesbian Owned Listing

A British couple won PS5,000 (approximately $8,200 U.S.) in damages after a real estate agency listed their home as being owned by lesbians on a Web advertisement in lieu of a reference number.

Suzanne Richards and Sarah Dobinson were attempting to sell their PS650,000 (approximately $1 million U.S.) home in Suffolk, England, through agents Jackson-Stops & Staff, according to the Daily Telegraph. When they went to see how their home was being marketed, they discovered that the home was being identified as "lesbians" as opposed to a five-digit number.

"We were both shaking with disbelief and in tears when we read the property reference," Richards said in the article. "The repercussions of such actions could have been catastrophic. Publicly linking our home address with our sexuality could have ruined our lives."

The company claims that the code was mislabeled by a junior staffer. However, the couple said that when they contacted Jackson-Stops to complain about the categorization, a representative replied, "We fail to see how we have discriminated against you."