Rep. Jerry Nadler of New Jersey introduced a bill yesterday that would ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or source of income. The bill would amend the Fair Housing Act to include these categories and would impact the sale and rental of housing, home financing and brokerage services.
“Transgender people urgently need protection from discrimination in housing. It is unconscionable that people are being forced out of their home and onto the streets because of prejudice,” noted NCTE’s Executive Director Mara Keisling.
A survey of transgender and gender non-conforming people conducted by NCTE and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force last year found that 19% of the 6,450 respondents reported having been homeless at some point in their lives because of their gender identity. People of color reported even higher rates, with an alarming 41% of African Americans and 29% of Latina/os in the study having been homeless because of bias.
The rates of home ownership-often considered a key index in housing stability-were less than half the rate of the general population at 32% for our sample compared to the national average of 67% reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during the same period. Again, racism played a factor, with respondents of color faring worse than our sample overall.
Rep. Nadler has long been a strong voice in Congress for the rights of transgender people. While a long time champion of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), he refused to vote in favor of the bill in 2007 because it did not include gender identity protections. NCTE honored him, and the other members of Congress who held this principled stance, with an award in the spring of 2008.
Last year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced new measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in its housing programs. In July of this year, HUD issued a statement that they can and will take action in cases of discrimination against transgender people using existing laws banning bias based on gender stereotypes. Read our statement for more information. However, advocates agree that adding transgender people to the Fair Housing Act is important to make it clear that such discrimination will not be tolerated.
The Fair Housing Act was first passed in 1968, as part of that year’s Civil Rights Act; while there had been existing laws to address discrimination in housing, this was the first legislation that included provisions for enforcement.
With the very short amount of time left in this Congress, the bill is not expected to move forward; however, it is an important step to have it introduced so that it is on record and a conversation can begin about the significant need for this legislation.