Housing discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community is widespread throughout Cuyahoga County. Housing Research & Advocacy Center’s (The Housing Center) newest report, “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Housing Discrimination in Cuyahoga County” assesses the prevalence of housing discrimination in rental transactions in Cuyahoga County based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Within the study, same-sex couples experienced housing discrimination 35.3% of the time while people who identified as transgender experienced housing discrimination 32.1% of the time. Discrimination against same-sex couples was more than four times more common in in-person housing transactions than by email. Gender identity discrimination (measured in the study only through email transactions) in email transactions occurred more than twice as often as sexual orientation discrimination by email. Additionally, LGBTQ persons of color experienced higher rates of housing discrimination than their white counterparts.
While the federal Fair Housing Act and Ohio fair housing law do not explicitly protect LGBTQ people from housing discrimination, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has expanded fair housing policy to acknowledge housing discrimination on the basis of non-conformity with gender stereotypes as sex discrimination. In Cuyahoga County, 15 municipalities have enacted fair housing ordinances banning housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and 11 have done so on the basis of gender identity.
The Housing Center also engaged in outreach and education to the LGBTQ community as well as complaint intake, investigation and advocacy. During the grant period, the Housing Center received 22 total complaints of LGBTQ housing discrimination. In addition, The Housing Center filed 12 complaints against housing providers due to evidence of discrimination revealed in the study: 9 on the basis of gender identity; 3, on sexual orientation.
The Housing Center recommends strengthening state and local fair housing laws to prohibit housing discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity; filing and tracking outcomes of HUD-investigated complaints of sexual orientation and gender identity housing discrimination as sex-based housing discrimination; educating housing providers on their responsibilities and housing consumers on their rights under federal, state, and local fair housing laws; and vigorously enforcing prohibitions of sexual orientation and gender identity housing discrimination.
This study and report were supported through a grant by the Cleveland Foundation. The findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The authors and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in the publication.
You can download the full report here: