If you’ve found getting a mortgage to be a near-impossible task, there may be a reason: mortgage discrimination. Researchers from Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business have laid bare a painful but unsurprising truth: when they revealed that same-sex couples are 73% more likely to be denied a mortgage compared to their straight counterparts. … Read more »
Do you live in a gayborhood? You know what I’m talking about, right? A community in a metropolitan area where large numbers of LGBT people reside. Examples include Chicago’s Boystown or WEHO in Los Angeles. If the answer is yes, you wouldn’t be alone. Many who identify as queer choose to live in such areas… Read more »
Melissa Ede, the transgender taxi driver who won £4 million from the National Lottery, has been rejected from buying her dream home. After winning the jackpot she fell in love with a five-bedroom property on a luxury development with its own duck pond, immediately setting out to buy the desirable pile. Melissa, 57, says… Read more »
I’ve decided to take on the task of buying a home this year. My previous abodes have been rented. I’ve had leases, rented month to month, but never a mortgage. It’s a daunting task to take on, especially as a single person with a single income and looking for a house in a neighborhood where… Read more »
Late last night, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) proposed an amendment on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives calling for LGBT equality and non-discrimination provisions in federal transportation and housing programs. The amendment passed with bipartisan support on a 241-184 vote. “No American should be fired or denied a job or place to… Read more »
A gay couple have complained about a flatshare ad – that says a room is available for a straight couple only. Ross Boulter and his partner Mikey say they were looking for a flat in Guilford on Spareroom.co.uk, when they saw a listing for a flatshare in the city centre. However, after reaching out to… Read more »
House-hunting pair speak out about the constant struggle to find a place to live. Ian Begley and Eric Wan are currently living with Mr Begley’s parents but are trying to find a place of their own. Mr Begley points out that many factors are against them – “My boyfriend is a recent accounting graduate, he’s… Read more »
A former Brigham Young University student has sued a university-contracted apartment complex that he says evicted him after he told his roommates he was attracted to men. Andrew David White’s civil lawsuit filed last week says he was physically assaulted in January by his roommates after they came to believe he was gay and kicked… Read more »
A grandmother in Oregon believes she is being unfairly targeted and harassed by her mobile home community’s new landlord because she is gay, an allegation that recently received some attention from the local news after vandals spray-painted the words “die dike” on the side of her home. Melanie Powell tells KOIN6 that she’s been living… Read more »
A transgender woman and her partner have settled a lawsuit alleging unfair housing practices by an Athens RV park owner. The Cedar Creek Lake-area couple say they are not happy with the settlement and that the Department of Justice pressured them to accept $4,000 to settle the suit. The case was based on an Obama… Read more »
San Francisco’s planning commission is backing a proposed rule that would require national developers wishing to build residential projects with 10 or more units in the city to disclose if they prohibit LGBT discrimination. The commission voted 5-0 at its meeting this afternoon (Thursday, July 10) to support the proposal, known as the LGBTQ Equal… Read more »
Thank you, Fox News, for bringing light to a dark situation. In the wake of the horrible mass murders committed by a young man in a college town, Fox News has helped us make sense of this senseless situation by giving a forum for Dr. Robi Ludwig to express her smart, enlightening diagnosis of the… Read more »
HGTV announced Wednesday that the recently unveiled real estate reality TV show, “Flip it Forward,” starring anti-gay activist David Benham and his twin brother Jason, will not move forward after all. The announcement comes following a report by Right Wing Watch that David Benham is a conservative activist who has campaigned against LGBT equality and… Read more »
The Texas Association of Realtors and its funding arm, the Texas Real Estate Political Action Committee, have long endorsed and funded anti-LGBT candidates. But one Realtor is hoping to change that in the coming years, if not sooner. Bob McCranie, owner of Plano-based Texas Pride Realty, has grown tired of the Texas organizations endorsing and… Read more »
Louisiana lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have prohibited housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The House Commerce Committee voted 13-5 Monday against the measure, which was the first in a package of gay rights bills proposed for consideration this session. The bill would have added sexual orientation, gender identity, gender… Read more »
At today’s (Tue/11) Board of Supervisors meeting, Sup. David Campos is introducing legislation to encourage large-scale developers to protect the housing rights of the LGBT community. Same-sex couples nationwide are more likely to experience discrimination in their search for senior housing, a study by the Washington, D.C. based Equal Rights Center found. To investigate, testers… Read more »
The Phoenix-area real estate industry has been somewhat tight-lipped on its opinion of the controversial “religious freedom” bill that’s waiting for Gov. Jan Brewer to either sign or veto. For instance, the Arizona Association of Realtors hasn’t responded to requests for comment. In addition, Doug Fulton, president of Tempe-based home builder Fulton Homes — who… Read more »
Transgender woman Roxanne Joganik is facing possible mediation in her lawsuit against a property owner who kicked her out of his trailer park in Athens last year. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed the lawsuit in October against the park owner, George Toone. The Justice Department is seeking to restore Joganik and… Read more »
Today, Lambda Legal announced that Weinreb Management, a New York City-based management company, has added lesbian tenant Dava Weinstein’s spouse, Dorothy Calvani, to her rent-stabilized lease, in compliance with state and city law, and agreed to pay $20,000 to the couple to settle the matter. “Dava and Dorothy should not have had to retain lawyers… Read more »
A legally married lesbian couple is suing the landlord of their Upper West Side apartment in New York City for refusing to add the name of a spouse to their lease. Dava Weinstein sought to have the name of Dorothy Calvani, her partner of 37 years and wife since 2011, placed as a co-tenent on… Read more »
Appleton becomes the third city in Wisconsin to adopt rules against housing discrimination based on gender identity. The city’s diversity coordinator, Kathy Flores, says there are no state or federal protections for transgender individuals, so it’s up to communities to adopt rules. The Department of Housing and Urban Development says 17 states and 160 cities… Read more »
When Roxanne Joganik began presenting as a woman, she was told to remove her trailer from the Texan RV Park in Athens. Joganik said she never had a problem with the former owner of the park, whom she called a friend and had known for 25 years. When a new owner, George Toone, purchased the… Read more »
A Florida condominium association is reversing a policy that allowed only singles and husband-and-wife couples to buy or lease units in the complex after an uproar from gay rights activists. The Casa Di Amici Condominium Association Inc. held a special meeting Thursday to amend the rule previously approved on July 17, reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune…. Read more »
Lovely – a Florida condo association is specifically barring same sex couples from buying a home in the project. On Top Magazine reports: Casa Di Amici Condo in Venice adopted the restriction in July. It states that only single people or couples legally married as “husband and wife” can purchase a home. “Sales limited to… Read more »
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development just released the first report on discrimination in rental housing against LGBT citizens. LGBT Weekly reports: According to HUD’s study, same-sex couples experience unequal treatment more often than heterosexual couples when responding to internet ads for rental units, and findings show that gay male couples experience more… Read more »
This last week, a landlord on the Isle of Man refused to rent a flat to a lesbian couple – Gay Star News reports: A lesbian couple residing in the Isle of Man was shocked when a landlord said he doesn’t want a same-sex couple moving into his property. Kira Izzard and Laura Cull who… Read more »