On his first day, President Trump returned this fair housing protection
But what if part of your identity – not the merits of your income or credit score; Rather a harmless, often random part of your being – was an obstacle for you to call home?
This is not an imagination for some. Did you know that 79% of those who were investigated by Zillow, experienced unfair homes, simply on their sexual orientation or gender identity?
This and similar data speak about the need for sexual orientation and gender identity to remain legally protected fair housing classes. Despite the data, however, their federal protection ended in afederal day 2025 at federal level.
How did we get here?
Although there is no federal status, I have been proud that we, Brokers, have been detained with and voluntarily dedicated to a higher ethical code to ensure that fair housing extends to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identification since 2010 and 2013, respectively.
However, our customers, neighbors and other members of the community did not necessarily have to live according to our ethical code if they are in one of the 18 states or 4 areas that had no protection.
That was until 2021.
President Biden increased the Ante and did not give legal status to housing discrimination, simply because of a person’s sex identity or sexual orientation with Executive Order 13988 on January 20, 2021 (preventing and combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation).
Within a few weeks after that EO, Hud (The US Department of Housing and Urban Development with one of its duties to enforce fair housing) began to investigate unfair homes that exclude on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
But unfortunately, today I woke up in an America where we lost that honest federal protection of homes. Shortly after his inauguration, President Trump signed one Executive order that reclaimed 78 existing executive ordersIncluding “preventing and combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation”.
As a fair home trainer I have had real estate agents, not just horror stories from customers Homes are refused – not because of their credit or income, but simple because of their sexual orientation or gender identity – but brokers and brokers himself To hide that they were not welcomed in certain communities to live or sell as intermediaries.
President Biden’s Executive Order 13988 helped to ensure that if unfair housing tried to start his ugly head, a legal story was federally available. Still, just like the carriage of Cinderella who returns to a pumpkin during the Battle of midnight, President Trump apparently rolled back the bells until 2020, so that housing discrimination based on sexual orientation no longer has a federal legal remedy.
Where are we going from here?
Since 1968 we have recorded federal fair home laws the right to a house, regardless of identity markings such as race, religion and national descent. It is time for sexual orientation and gender identity to be the same, which means that our associations (brokers have been the largest trade association) have to lobby for this with our senators.
In the meantime, even if your state does not explicitly treat the sexual orientation or gender identity as a fair housing class, we all let the Ethic Code of Ethics code regain it, which means that unfairness is not permitted under customers or colleagues on our watch .
Lee Davenport is a real estate coach/educator and author.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial department of Housingwire and the owners.
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