Vegan landlord divides opinion after banning cooking meat in home

A rental listing has divided opinion online after a vegan landlord demanded tenants should be happy not to cook meat or fish at their property.

As reported in The New York Times, a property listing in Brooklyn advertised two townhouse apartments in Fort Greene for a price of $4,500 (£3,500) and $5,750 (£4,485) a month.

They sounded pretty lovely, with outdoor space and wide brick walls... but there was a pretty hefty catch.

The vegan landlord doesn't want meat or fish cookery in the flat (Credit: Getty)

Tenants weren't to cook meat or fish in the building, as the landlords, who lived in the block, didn't want the smell of meat or fish wafting in their direction.

“It’s not vegetarian-only, but the owner lives in the building and doesn’t want the smell of cooking meat drifting upstairs,” the rental broker reportedly told the publication.

They added that meaty takeaways were allowed, but tenants cooking the produce was the problem.

You might be wondering what the rules are about landlords filtering through tenants by dietary habits.

Well, the New York City’s Human Rights laws dictate that landlords aren't allowed to consider 14 specific characteristics about tenants, such as race, sexual orientation or age, when determining if they should live in a property.

Tenants were only allowed meat when ordering takeout (Credit: Getty)

Diet is currently not on the list, which means that technically such a distinction isn't illegal.

However, it's safe to say that making such a distinction is a little controversial. Whilst some deemed it a "reasonable request," others weren't so sure.

"No, it isn't right," said one person on Twitter. "And despite what they say, it is discrimination. You can't tell someone what they can or can not cook/eat/do in their apartment."

"They're assuming all vegetarian food actually smells nice & maybe their tenants don't want their food wafting around either," said another.

As a third wrote: "I hate seafood but I wouldn't ban people from cooking it. My opinion doesn’t reign over anyone else’s."

The condition is perfectly legal, apparently (Credit: Getty)

Speaking to Bon Appetit, the landlord, Motti Lerer, explained: "I’m not going to try to convince people to become vegan.

"As a landlord, it’s not the way to do it because I’m coming from a place of power, and that is wrong. It’s much more about the smell and how we feel living in the buildings.

"I wish I could show people what eating meat means for the animals, but I don’t try to sway my tenants this way.

"People think we are discriminating. But most people also start to drool when they smell meat. I try to explain it like smoking, loud music, or partying all the time."

Featured image: Getty