Lesbian, gay and bisexual people face serious inequalities when it comes to housing, new research from Sheffield Hallam shows

Gay and bisexual men and women in the UK are less likely to own their own home and more likely to live in privately rented or socially rented accommodation than heterosexual people.

This is one of the main findings of ground-breaking research by academics from Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Nottingham and Sterling University, who analyzed almost a decade of data from British households in a first-of-its-kind study. .

Using survey responses from around 10,000 UK households, taken as part of the UK Longitudinal Household Survey (UKHLS), they found a large difference in home ownership among gay men: while 73% of straight male respondents were homeowners, this dropped to 63% for gay men and 66% for bisexual men.

The study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, also found that around 68% of gay women and 51% of bisexual women were owner-occupiers, compared to 70% of heterosexual women.

The authors point out that their study could only focus on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people because the UKHLS only asked respondents about their sexual orientation and not their gender identity, but they said other research has suggested similar results for trans . people in homes.

“Housing policy in the UK is designed around the heterosexual nuclear family,” said Professor Peter Matthews, lead author of the report from the University of Stirling. “Our findings make it clear that lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the UK are at a disadvantage when it comes to home ownership.

“These inequalities are likely a direct result of three things: gay and bisexual men were denied mortgages and life insurance in the 1980s and 1990s because of the stigma of HIV/AIDS; the long-standing rule for a male co-signer on a mortgage application, which excludes all women from home ownership; and, more recently, that gay and bisexual men earn less.”

In the social rented sector, researchers from the three universities found that 20% of gay women, 26% of bisexual women, 17% of gay men and 15% of bisexual men were in social rented accommodation (such as council). This compared to 11% of straight women and 12% of straight men.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are also generally more likely to rent privately: 21% of gay men and 19% of bisexual men do so, compared to 16% of straight men, while 23% of bisexual women and 12% of gay women. do, compared to 19% of heterosexual women.

At a time when the social rented sector continues to be deliberated by the government and where private tenants are subject to irresponsible landlords, poor housing conditions and record rent rises, these figures represent a serious inequality between LGB and straight people in the UK Britain.

The researchers said disparities in the data still existed after taking into account that the LGB population is on average younger than the heterosexual population and that a disproportionate number of LGB people live in London and south-east London.

“Some in the LGB community are more affected than others – those with children or who are married or cohabiting are statistically significantly less likely to be homeowners than their heterosexual counterparts, for example,” Professor Matthews said.

“And because the LGB population is younger, we’re storing up problems for the future when this population ages and won’t have the same levels of wealth and housing assets as their heterosexual counterparts to support them later.”

In concluding their report, the team, which included Professor Eleanor Formby from Sheffield Hallam University, found that the increasingly financialized nature of housing in the age of neoliberalism is exacerbating the inequalities they identified in their research.

“Good-quality, affordable housing is recognized as a basic element of well-being and well-being,” the authors write in their conclusion. “As discussed, the move towards a more asset-based welfare system in increasingly neoliberal and financialized welfare states means that home ownership is now also an increasingly from the provision of social assistance for old age. These changes have paralleled the rise of ‘generation rent’ in countries such as the UK and a concern about falling home ownership rates and increasing intra-generational wealth inequality.”

They continue: “Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are less likely to own their own home. Part of this is due to the different age profile of this population; however, when controlling for age and other factors associated with an increased likelihood of homeownership, the disparity remains.

“This has implications for the wellbeing and wellbeing of LGB people: they have less housing wealth; pay more for poorer quality housing in the private-rented sector; and they will have fewer assets to rely on when they get older.”