Landlords have been forced to change the lease conditions of a Brisbane barber shop after a woman was refused a haircut.

Vivien Houston, 33, took The Gap Shopping Centre to task after being told the men's barber, Jimmy Rod's Barber Shop, could not serve her under their lease conditions because she is a woman.

James O'Brien, Jimmy Rod's managing director, earlier said to the ABC: 'We are exclusively only to cut men's hair due to three other hairdressers being in the centre, and if we do cut women's hair there, we will be breached and it could cause our lease to get cancelled.'

He said in the other stores they cut women's hair but the lease at the Gap Village store prevented this in order to stop competition with other hairdressers in the centre.

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Vivien Houston (pictured) was refused a haircut at a men's barber because she was a woman, with the barber explaining she could not be served because of the wording of their lease

Ms Housten has a men's style haircut, which is why she goes to the barber shop to have it maintained

After taking the shopping centre landlords to task, Ms Houston had the wording of Jimmy Rod's Barber Shop's lease changed (pictured: the shopping centre store)

Ms Houston was shocked when a barber stopped her when she entered the store.

'I walked in and one of the barbers at the shop stopped me,' she said.

'I thought she was going to say they had too many people in line and wouldn't be able to fit me in before closing, but she actually said I can't serve you because you're a woman.'

She said that she contacted centre management to make a formal complaint about the issue but found their response unsatisfactory.

After contacting the shopping centre management with her complaint, she reportedly filed a complaint with the anti-discrimination commission

The Gap Village Shopping Centre apologised to Ms Houston and said they had been trying to differentiate between the style of service given at a barber and a hairdresser

Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland has said they are unable to disclose whether a sex discrimination complaint had been made.

Late on Tuesday, the shopping centre said it never meant to impose discriminatory conditions and the barber shop's lease had been amended so all customers could have their haircut, regardless of gender.

'We do not condone discrimination in any form, including discrimination against customers based on gender,' the centre said on its Facebook page.

'The intention was to ensure differentiation between the hairdressing businesses within the centre on the basis of barber-style versus salon-style services.

'However, we acknowledge that the wording, which has been in place since 2007, could be improved to more accurately reflect this intent.'

Ms Houston, who has a men's style hair cut, is celebrating news, saying it shows the value of speaking up.

'I'm glad that speaking out about it has resulted in everyone becoming aware of the anti-discrimination legislation and being willing to make changes to the lease,' she has told the ABC.