Latest news in fair housing policy for the LGBTQ+ community: Following an Executive Order from the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will now enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Click here to learn more.
Housing Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity is Illegal.
In 2021, sexual orientation and gender identity were officially recognized as forms of sex discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act. This means that discrimination in housing due to a person’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity is illegal across the entire United States. Housing providers are prohibited from:
Rental and Sale of Housing
- Refusing to rent or sell housing
- Refusing to negotiate for housing
- Making housing unavailable or otherwise restricting choice
- Setting different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of housing
- Providing different housing services or facilities
- Falsely denying that housing is available
- Persuading owners to sell or rent (blockbusting)
- Denying anyone access to or membership in a facility or service related to the sale or rental of housing
- Retaliating against a person for making a fair housing complaint.
Mortgage Lending and Insurance
- Refusing to make a mortgage loan or provide homeowners insurance
- Refusing to provide information regarding loans or insurance
- Imposing different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different rates, or fees
- Discriminating in appraising property
- Refusing to purchase a loan
- Setting different terms or conditions purchase a loan
It is also illegal for anyone to:
- Threaten, coerce, intimidate, or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise that right.
- Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on a protected class.
Examples of Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity:
- Threatening a transgender person in transition with eviction if they dress or present in gender-affirming ways.
- Ignoring or failing to stop harassment or intimidation of LGBTQ residents by their neighbors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Denying housing in a rooming house to a person because they believe they are gay.
- Refusing to rent an apartment to a couple once they learn that they are in a same-sex relationship.
- Telling a resident that they cannot use the locker room corresponding with their gender identity at an apartment complex’s fitness center.
- Threatening to evict a male resident for having his male partner stay at his unit overnight several nights a week, while not restricting the overnight guests of heterosexual residents.
- Intentionally outing or misgendering a resident or refusing to honor their chosen name or pronouns.
Download the Fair Housing for the LGBTQ Community Brochure:
Read the report on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination in Cuyahoga County:
Local Fair Housing Protections
Although sexual orientation and gender identity are now protected at the federal level, many communities in Northeast Ohio have also added these protections to their local ordinances.
The Fair Housing Center applauds the following municipalities for affirming these protections in their local fair housing ordinances:
- Sexual Orientation: Beachwood, Brook Park, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County, Cuyahoga Heights, East Cleveland, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Linndale, Maple Heights, Newburgh Heights, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, University Heights, Warrensville Heights, Wickliffe, Lorain City, Oberlin, Sheffield Lake, Medina
- Gender Identity: Beachwood, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga County, East Cleveland, Euclid, Lakewood, Linndale, Maple Heights, Olmsted Falls, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, University Heights, Warrensville Heights, Wickliffe, Oberlin
Discrimination Prohibited in Housing Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
In 2010 — before sexual orientation and gender identity were recognized as forms of sex discrimination at the federal level — the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offered clarification on its policy to ensure its programs are open to all eligible individuals regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
The regulations require:
- Equal access in housing funded by HUD and housing that holds a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
This means that owners and operators of HUD-funded housing or housing insured by FHA* are prohibited from:
- Asking about an applicant’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status for the purpose of determining eligibility or otherwise making the housing available.
- Denying an applicant housing based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identify, or marital status.
*A private housing provider who receives an FHA mortgage loan and who rents the property is prohibited from discriminating or inquiring about a potential renter’s sexual orientation or gender identity since the source of funding for these loans is from HUD.
Examples of Housing that Receives Federal Financial Assistance
If a building or program receives federal financial assistance the housing provider cannot discriminate against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.
- Public Housing
- Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8)
- Subsidized Housing
- Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program
- Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS
- Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Section 202 Housing)
- Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811)
- FHA-Insured Mortgages
- Section 236 Mortgages
- HOME Program
