Almost half of LGBTQ people behind on rent fear eviction

Data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey point to a crisis in rental housing stability among LGBT people.

It’s like the lyrics from the musical, RENT:

How do you document real life
When real life is getting more
Like fiction each day
Headlines — bread-lines
Blow my mind
And now this deadline
“Eviction — or pay”
Rent!

According to a new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, 19% of LGBT renters report not being caught up on rent and nearly half of them (47%) fear they may be evicted within the next two months.

Using data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, researchers examined rental housing stability late in the COVID-19 pandemic among LGBT people compared to non-LGBT people, including differences by race. Results show that LGBT people of color were more likely to be renters and to be behind on their rent compared to all other groups.

“A key component to a person’s housing stability is whether they own or rent,” said lead author Bianca D.M. Wilson, Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute. “The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the risk that LGBT people—and LGBT people of color in particular—will lose their housing as federal eviction protections are set to expire in October.”

The federal eviction moratorium—providing important protections to renters impacted by the pandemic—was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

KEY FINDINGS

• 41% of LGBT adults rent their homes, compared to 25% of non-LGBT adults.
  
• An estimated 47% of LGBT people of color rent their homes, compared to 37% of white LGBT people, 36% of non-LGBT people of color, and 19% of white non-LGBT people.

• 19% of LGBT renters report not being caught up on rent, compared to 14% of non-LGBT people.
  
• An estimated 30% of LGBT people of color were behind on rent, compared to 10% of white LGBT people, 19% of non-LGBT people of color, and 10% of white non-LGBT people.
  
• Nearly half of LGBT (47%) and non-LGBT (46%) renters who are not caught up on rent fear they may be evicted within the next two months.
  
• An estimated 51% of LGBT people of color feared eviction in the next two months, compared to 38% of white LGBT people, 47% of non-LGBT people of color, and 46% of white non-LGBT people.
  
• Previous research from the Williams Institute found that more LGBT people than non-LGBT people report that their ability to pay their rent or mortgage got worse during the pandemic, and these disparities were experienced the most by LGBT people of color.

Read the brief here.

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.