HUD Is Researching Discrimination In Housing Against The LGBT Community

This week HUD announced that they are going to be studying discrimination against LGBT people in housing. Ed O’Keefe wrote in his column “The Federal Eye” in the Washington Post reported that,

HUD probing gay housing discrimination
Updated 3:25 p.m. ET

The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to study the impact of housing discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans, fulfilling the wishes of gay rights groups who believe landlords regularly discriminate based on sexual orientation.
…
Local and state groups have conducted studies on gay housing discrimination in certain areas of the country, but there is no definitive national assessment of the issue, HUD said. A 2007 study in Michigan found that nearly 30 percent of same-sex couples were treated differently when trying to buy or rent a home.

A forthcoming study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force finds that 11 percent of transgender people surveyed said they have been evicted and 19 percent have become homeless because of the bias.

This is not the first time that HUD collected data on the transgender community. Back in November I wrote a blog column (Housing For The Trans-community) about HUD and homelessness in the trans-community.

I know several trans-people who were kicked out of their apartment once they transitioned and I know others who have had a difficult time finding new apartment or buying a home. I know someone who was forced to leave their apartment when her neighbors started harassing her and the landlord told her if she didn’t like it then she could move. However, under Connecticut state law it is the property owner’s responsibility to provide a safe living space and they are suppose to evicted the harasser, not the victim.