A Gay Couple In South London Has Turned Down The Opportunity To Inspect And Buy A Home.

Because of their sexuality, a gay couple has been denied a viewing and the opportunity to buy a house in south London.

The owners of the property Lachlan Mantell and Luke Whitehouse were interested in sent them a message saying they were "unwilling" to let them view or buy it.

The homeowners justified their decision by stating that it was based on their religious convictions.

Purplebricks, an online estate firm, has taken the house from their website.

Mr Whitehouse, 34, and Mr Mantell, 37, have been dating for eight years and intended to inspect the three-bedroom, £650,000 house on Saturday.

But, before they could do so, Purplebricks received a communication from the sellers.

"Dear Lachlan and Luke, thank you for sharing your situation with us," it said.

"We apologize if we come off as intrusive, but we just want to make it plain that we would not allow two guys in a partnership to visit or purchase our home." Because it contradicts God's gracious message in the Holy Bible, for example, Romans 1:24-28 and Jude (King James Version)."

The couple stated that they had no plans to pursue legal action, but that they were eager to resume their hunt for a new home.

"To have it as the first time we could put an offer on, and to love it so much, and to have that reaction, took the wind out of our sails," Mr Mantell told BBC London. It was a huge letdown.

"We had no ill will toward the couple; we just wanted to send a message that this sort of behavior happens and it is not acceptable."

Mr Whitehouse, who is from Sedgley in the West Midlands and lives in Putney, initially mistook the letter for a joke, but afterwards described feeling outraged and sad about what they were facing.

"We'd had homophobia before, but this seemed to be on a far larger scale," he said.