An extensive report published by the British newspaper The Telegraph revealed a broad network of discrimination in London’s housing market, as landlords publish rental advertisements aimed solely at Muslims-in what the report describes as a blatant violation of Britain’s Equality Act.
The advertisements, posted on popular online platforms such as Facebook, Telegram, and Gumtree, make no effort to hide their intent.
They explicitly demand tenants who maintain a strict religious lifestyle-no smoking or alcohol consumption-and in some cases even require proficiency in specific languages such as Punjabi and Gujarati.
The phenomenon was documented across numerous major districts in the British capital, including Ilford, Newham, Barking, Walthamstow, and Harrow. As part of the investigation, journalists posing as non-Muslim renters inquired about rooms costing between £450 and £850 per month.
The responses they received after their identities became known ranged from polite refusals to open hostility, including phone calls being abruptly ended with shouts of “Get out of here."
The discriminatory advertisements operate openly and without concealment. On Facebook, there are groups with explicit names such as “Muslim Room Rentals in London," and established real estate firms such as Roshan Properties published dozens of listings with similar preferences.
Although Facebook quickly removed the company’s page following the newspaper’s inquiry, the phenomenon continues to flourish across various social media platforms.
British law explicitly prohibits landlords and real estate agencies from discriminating against tenants on the basis of religion, race, or ethnic origin, but in practice enforcement appears to be struggling to keep pace with the scale of the phenomenon taking place online.