A man has been slapped with a steep fine by a Cologne court after he refused to rent a villa to a same-sex couple. The landlord must pay €1,700 in compensation to the couple, a regional court said.

The man regularly rented out his personal villa to newly-weds to earn a bit more cash, but when he learned that the couple in question were gay, he refused to sign a contract with them.

The court charged the man with discrimination, stating that his refusal to rent to them was illegal and violated German law concerning equal treatment, calling it "discrimination based on sexual orientation". Read more via the Local