Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity
Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME) is a HUD-certified non-profit housing counseling agency that helps fight housing discrimination. We can help you if you feel you were denied housing based on your sexual orientation or gender identity. You can click contact us below for more help.
Sexual Orientation: It is illegal to discriminate against a person for their actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality. This includes discrimination due to someone’s physical appearance, mannerisms, the partner they are with, or any self-identifying symbols or flags.
Gender identity: It is illegal to discriminate against someone for their gender-related identity, appearance, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth. This includes discrimination due to someone’s gender non-conforming appearance, their apparent gender not matching their legal identification (drivers license), or any self-identifying symbols or flags.
In 2020, sexual orientation and gender identity became two new protected classes covered by Virginia fair housing laws. Members of the LGBT+ population are now protected from housing discrimination.
Examples of discrimination include:
- A landlord starts charging different fees or making rules and conditions for a transgender tenant after they transition.
- Differential treatment, such as a property manager offering appointment times and rent specials to heterosexual couples, then avoiding giving specific information to same-gender couples.
- Using homophobic or transphobic slurs to refer to an applicant or tenant.
- Other tenants harass and intimidate a neighbor because their same-gender partner moves in with them.
- Refusing to accept same-gender spouses as tenants in senior housing communities.
- Harassing a tenant by not using their correct pronouns or chosen name on purpose.
More Protected Classes:
