“The owner wants a family: a man, a woman and possibly a child.” This is the response that Alessandro Manfredini, an art director from Modena, said he received from a real estate agent who allegedly rejected him because he was gay. With a post on social media, Manfredini reported what happened, explaining that he had first contacted the real estate agency and provided the requested information, including details on the person with whom he lives. A few minutes later, he would have been called back by the real estate agent who, however, told him a very specific request from the owner: “He wants a family…”, the agency employee would have told him, triggering Manfredini’s indignant reaction. When asked what she meant by family, the worker replied: “A man, a woman and possibly a son.”
The real estate agent: «Me? I’m just acting as a go-between”
The real estate agent justified herself by specifying that she was only an intermediary and that she had no responsibility for the owner’s decision. «I understand that the lady tried to get out of the strong embarrassing situation that was created, but I wonder how it is possible that today, in Modena, a real estate agent is willing to inform potential clients of the refusal by an owner to show an apartment to people who in any case would have all the characteristics and economic guarantees required to be able to rent it, only for a clearly homophobic stance”, commented Manfredini to Journal of Modena.
