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'Not heterosexual' renters twice as likely to have tenancies ended, says new research
Ethan Te Ora18:15, Mar 05 2021FacebookTwitterWhats AppRedditEmail
6-7 minutes
RNZ
A transgender woman who was kicked out of the house she was sharing with the owner says her landlord called her "offensive" and evicted her from her Auckland home. (First published November 2020)
New research has found renting is "precarious for everyone”, but renters from rainbow communities were twice as likely to have their tenancies ended early.
The finding comes as a part of major research into evictions by numerous academics over several years, with initial findings presented during a symposium at Otago University’s Wellington campus.
Dr Lucy Telfar-Barnard, who conducted research for the study, said the finding suggested widespread discrimination in the rental market.
“I can find no reason other than discrimination,” Telfar-Barnard said. “I would be all ears if someone could come up with another explanation, something else in the data that hasn’t occurred to me. But I can’t see any other reason.”
Telfar-Barnard’s research drilled down into the most recent General Social Survey, a biannual survey of 8000 people by Stats NZ. In 2018, the survey included a special focus on issues related to housing and asked respondents why they left their last tenancy, with one option being “the landlord ended the tenancy”.
“The main takeaway from the study is that pretty much all tenants are living in precarious tenure,” Telfar-Barnard said. “They can’t be sure their landlord won’t give them notice tomorrow; that they won’t have to move out in three months time.”
Telfar-Barnard combined answers to the survey question with demographic information, including the sexuality of respondents. Survey respondents were selected to reflect the general population, and therefore the proportion of respondents who identified as “not heterosexual” would reflect the population at large.
This show a far higher rate of tenancies ended early among people identified “no heterosexual” than in the broader population.
Finding a house can be a “Wild West” for renters from rainbow communities.
Stuff spoke to a trans renter, who wished not to use their name. They were renting a flat in Wellington – with a group of trans flatmates and one gay person – and faced constant complaints from their neighbours.
“The things that they complained about weren’t really a problem – people smoking cigarettes in the yard.
“Technically, we were kicked out for smoking cigarettes outside. But the complaints were obviously to do with us being a household of trans people. They just didn’t want a group of trans people living on their street.”
The flatmates could’ve fought the eviction notice through the Tenancy Tribunal – but said there wasn’t much point with only a few months left on a fixed-term lease.
“We knew we would win the case, because smoking outside is legal – but we also knew the landlord then just wouldn’t renew our lease.”
Dr Brodie Fraser says renting is precarious for renters from rainbow communities, often due to “layers of stigmatised identities”.
Research fellow Dr Brodie Fraser – whose own research has focused on homelessness in takatāpui and LGBTIQ+ communities – said renting was “almost a Wild West where anything can happen” for those renters from rainbow communities.
“Landlords are technically not supposed to discriminate against queer people, but we know that they do.”
Informal eviction came up often during interviews for her research, Fraser said. She pointed to three examples: a trans woman who was kicked out by a flatmate who “only wanted to live with women”, a Māori trans sex worker who had been experiences of being shuffled out of rentals, and a woman who was living in a converted garage before being asked to leave for “renovations” once the landlords realised she was a lesbian.
“It isn’t necessarily just that people from those communities are queer. It’s often that they are Māori, or that they are sex workers. You add these layers of different stigmatised identities on top of each other, and landlords or neighbours will often have a problem.”
Telfar-Barnard said the data modelling of her research controlled for factors such as age, ethnicity and income. The results were “provisional” and would not be published until later this year.
The survey did not capture diverse gender identities, Telfar-Barnard said. Therefore, findings would represent LGB renters, rather than the full spectrum of LGBTQI+.
The larger eviction study included research by Philippa Howden-Chapman, Eli Chisholm, Cheryl Davies, Sarah Bierre and Bridgette Toy-Cronin.
If you value facts and being well-informed, please consider supporting Stuff.
'Not heterosexual' renters twice as likely to have tenancies ended, says new research
Ethan Te Ora18:15, Mar 05 2021FacebookTwitterWhats AppRedditEmail
6-7 minutes
RNZ
A transgender woman who was kicked out of the house she was sharing with the owner says her landlord called her "offensive" and evicted her from her Auckland home. (First published November 2020)
New research has found renting is "precarious for everyone”, but renters from rainbow communities were twice as likely to have their tenancies ended early.
The finding comes as a part of major research into evictions by numerous academics over several years, with initial findings presented during a symposium at Otago University’s Wellington campus.
Dr Lucy Telfar-Barnard, who conducted research for the study, said the finding suggested widespread discrimination in the rental market.
“I can find no reason other than discrimination,” Telfar-Barnard said. “I would be all ears if someone could come up with another explanation, something else in the data that hasn’t occurred to me. But I can’t see any other reason.”
Telfar-Barnard’s research drilled down into the most recent General Social Survey, a biannual survey of 8000 people by Stats NZ. In 2018, the survey included a special focus on issues related to housing and asked respondents why they left their last tenancy, with one option being “the landlord ended the tenancy”.
“The main takeaway from the study is that pretty much all tenants are living in precarious tenure,” Telfar-Barnard said. “They can’t be sure their landlord won’t give them notice tomorrow; that they won’t have to move out in three months time.”
Telfar-Barnard combined answers to the survey question with demographic information, including the sexuality of respondents. Survey respondents were selected to reflect the general population, and therefore the proportion of respondents who identified as “not heterosexual” would reflect the population at large.
This show a far higher rate of tenancies ended early among people identified “no heterosexual” than in the broader population.
Finding a house can be a “Wild West” for renters from rainbow communities.
Stuff spoke to a trans renter, who wished not to use their name. They were renting a flat in Wellington – with a group of trans flatmates and one gay person – and faced constant complaints from their neighbours.
“The things that they complained about weren’t really a problem – people smoking cigarettes in the yard.
“Technically, we were kicked out for smoking cigarettes outside. But the complaints were obviously to do with us being a household of trans people. They just didn’t want a group of trans people living on their street.”
The flatmates could’ve fought the eviction notice through the Tenancy Tribunal – but said there wasn’t much point with only a few months left on a fixed-term lease.
“We knew we would win the case, because smoking outside is legal – but we also knew the landlord then just wouldn’t renew our lease.”
Dr Brodie Fraser says renting is precarious for renters from rainbow communities, often due to “layers of stigmatised identities”.
Research fellow Dr Brodie Fraser – whose own research has focused on homelessness in takatāpui and LGBTIQ+ communities – said renting was “almost a Wild West where anything can happen” for those renters from rainbow communities.
“Landlords are technically not supposed to discriminate against queer people, but we know that they do.”
Informal eviction came up often during interviews for her research, Fraser said. She pointed to three examples: a trans woman who was kicked out by a flatmate who “only wanted to live with women”, a Māori trans sex worker who had been experiences of being shuffled out of rentals, and a woman who was living in a converted garage before being asked to leave for “renovations” once the landlords realised she was a lesbian.
“It isn’t necessarily just that people from those communities are queer. It’s often that they are Māori, or that they are sex workers. You add these layers of different stigmatised identities on top of each other, and landlords or neighbours will often have a problem.”
Telfar-Barnard said the data modelling of her research controlled for factors such as age, ethnicity and income. The results were “provisional” and would not be published until later this year.
The survey did not capture diverse gender identities, Telfar-Barnard said. Therefore, findings would represent LGB renters, rather than the full spectrum of LGBTQI+.
The larger eviction study included research by Philippa Howden-Chapman, Eli Chisholm, Cheryl Davies, Sarah Bierre and Bridgette Toy-Cronin.
If you value facts and being well-informed, please consider supporting Stuff.
