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Housing

Whether we’re looking for a pad, bijou flat, or a house share, most of us want a place we can call our own. It‘s where we eat, sleep, relax, invite friends and have sex so, in many ways, it’s the cornerstone of our lives. Even if we can find a place to live, the housing crisis (the responsibility of successive governments) often makes this both complicated and expensive. For many, rents are crazy expensive and getting on to the property ladder out of reach in the 21st century. 

Sofa surfing and sleeping rough continues to rise, as is homelessness as a consequence of problematic drug use. We are more likely to be victims of violence and sexual exploitation, bullying, discrimination and drug use. We are also more likely to experience higher rates of physical and mental health issues, suicidality, and suicide attempts compared to our heterosexual counterparts. Not something any of us wants to hear but for many this is the landscape today. While welcome though way overdue, a recent government report "Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people's experiences of homelessness" at least confirms this and what we already know.

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Housing by London Borough
Sofa surfing
 Flat hunting tips
 Stonewall Housing
 The Outside Project
 Albert Kennedy Trust
 Citizens Advice
 Shelter
 Nightstop
 Housing news and articles

When we’re younger, we tend to move around but we still need a base but, as we get older, many of us want a permanent home. However, some of us are forced to leave the family home or find ourselves in vulnerable and/ or dangerous situations which is why LGBT+ organisations like the Albert Kennedy Trust and Stonewall Housing are needed today more than ever.

In this housing sction, we've pulled together details of specialist organisations who should be able to help if/ when you need it, housing departments by London Borough and some tips if you're looking to rent.  An option for some is shared ownership, a part-buy, part-rent scheme that give first-time buyers an opportunity to own a share in a new build or re-sale property. 

Are LGBTQ+ people more likely to become homeless?

This seemingly straightforward question is not easy to answer. We do not have good data on who experiences homelessness with the exception of data about people going to their council for help with their housing problems. This challenge emerges because of the difficulty of tracking a population who are not associated with a particular location or address - a key way of identifying individuals in many government datasets, from the census on down. Statisticians are, of course, well aware of these challenges, and adjustments are made to large datasets like the census to ensure that they provide a more accurate count of the homeless population - but while these approaches enable headline figures to be more accurate, they reduce the resolution when we want to know anything specific - like a online map that goes blurry as we zoom in on an unphotographed area.

Sexuality, gender identity and homelessness | Centre for Homelessness Impact | 2022

Shared ownership homes: buying, improving and selling | GOV.UK
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people's experiences of homelessness | GOV.UK | 27 Sep 2024

LGBTQ+ homelessness is worse than people think. This charity is 'on a mission' to create safe spaces | The Big Issue | 29 Jun 2024
Tackling the LGBTQ+ youth homelessness crisis | National Housing Federation | 13 Feb 2023
LGBTQ+ Housing & Homelessness Survey 2022-23 | UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence | 19 Jun 2024
LGBT homelessness: 'I had to pretend to be straight' | BBC News | 14 Apr 2021
Why the UK housing market is brutal if you're young, LGBT and homeless | The Guardian | 22 Mar 2016