Landlord Refuses To Rent Room To A Student Because ‘Nigerian Cooking Makes The House Smell


A landlord refused to rent a room to a Gambian student after saying it was ‘only for Europeans’ because African cooking ‘makes the house smell’. Ebrima Mboob messaged Elina Vimbsone on Facebook to arrange to view a double room in central London.

Ms Vimbsone was initially enthusiast-ic but then changed her mind after realising where he was from, according to screengr-abs of the exchange.

The 24-year-old performing arts student told Sun Online: ‘I was completely sh*cked at the landlord’s response and I still am today. ‘Growing up in England, I’ve experienced all types of rac*sm, but this was the first time that I’ve experienced something this abs*rd.’

Mr Mboob, who studies at University of the Arts London and is originally from Gambia, said the exchange had made him self-conscious about cooking Afric-an food in case his housemates held similar attitudes.

Refus!ng to rent a property due to a person’s race is aga*nst the law because it br-eaches section 12 of the Equality Act 2010. The exchange began with Mr Mboob asking if he could arrange a viewing, to which Ms Vimbsone replied, ‘Sure, I do views today from now till 7pm will sic be brilliant if you could make a time.’

But she then added: ‘Oh, just seen your profile, it’s for European people only. Sorry mate…’ The angr* student h!t back: ‘That’s the w*rst thing I ever heard’.

Ms Vimbsone then said: ‘We are not rac!st… we have friends from Niger*a and all the house smells when they cook.’ The exchange ended with Mr Mboob calling the landlord ‘rac*st’ and asking her not to message him again. In 2017, a multi-millionaire Kent landlord prompted outcry after advising letting agents:

‘No colour-ed people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy.’

The case of Fergus Wilson, 71, led to a ruling by the Equality and Human Rights Commission that landlords could not discriminate against ethnic minorities.

In a separate inc!dent, Wilson was conv*cted of racially abus!ng a traff-ic warden and handed a 12-month community order. He was caught on camera saying: ‘Do you even speak English? Take your stupid f****** f***y back to your own place where you came from.’

Wilson and his wife Judith bought their first buy-to-let home in 1986 and at one point had around 750.

Ms Vimbsone refused to comment when approached by The Sun.