Housing Needs Of Lesbians & Gay Men.
Published 14th Jul 2004 by Steve Bustin

Brighton Estate Agency Outlet Celebrates 1st Birthday with Major New Survey into Housing Needs of Lesbians & Gay Men.

As Brighton estate agents Outlet celebrates their first birthday, their major new
survey has found that 67% of landlords would rather have gay and lesbian
tenants in their properties, believing them to be more ?easy-going, clean
and open-minded? than their heterosexual counterparts. As one landlord says,
?I?d rather rent to Will Young or Will Truman; it?s a case of Queer Eye for
the Straight House!?

The survey has revealed a fascinating insight into the needs and desires of
gay men and lesbians in the housing market. The research, carried out
nationally on behalf of Brighton sales and lettings agency Outlet
(www.outlet4sales.com), who have many lesbian and gay customers, has found
that while landlords now apparently actively seek lesbian and gay tenants
for their properties, most estate agents are failing to recognise the needs
of their gay customers. Importantly, many gay people still feel the need to
seek out ?safe areas? in which to find a home, and are far less concerned
with living in a ?trendy? area. On a lighter note, many of those who took
part in the survey reckoned they could spot a ?gay house? as soon as they
walked in the door!

Where do gay men and women want to live?

* 62% of respondents thought that the most important issue as lesbians and
gay men is the need to live in a ?safe? area, where they can be themselves.
Anecdotal evidence from respondents suggests that very few estate agents
understand this:

?Agents really don?t understand the prejudice faced by many gays and
lesbians. When I pointed out to an agent that I wouldn?t feel comfortable
walking home with my partner through a local estate, he said ?Why, a little
name calling doesn?t hurt??? (Michelle, Brighton) ¨

* Contrary to stereotypes, only 12% felt it important to live in a ?trendy?
area, whilst a massive 84% of respondents said that estate agents use ?it?s
in a trendy area? as a reason for pushing a particular property to lesbian &
gay house hunters:

?One agent we used was really reluctant to show us a property that was in an
area we had identified as desirable to us because, she claimed, ?gay men
don?t live there, they only live near the nightlife.? She refused to believe
that we wanted a house with a garden, not a loft in the gay village.? (Jez,
Manchester)


Rentals and Lettings

The Outlet survey looked at the experiences of lesbian and gay flat-sharers.
Many gay men and women find their first independent homes in rented
accommodation. This is especially true of younger gay men and women, who may
be recently ?out?, or have been forced to leave the family home. It appears
that many letting agencies are not focused on the housing needs of gay men
and women.

* 67% of landlords, irrespective of sexuality, felt that lesbians and gay
men made better tenants than their heterosexual peers.

?As a heterosexual man, when someone recommended advertising for gay tenants
I wasn?t sure if I would be seen to be discriminatory. Now I don?t hesitate.
Gay tenants have always been more easy-going, clean and open minded.?
(Jonny, London)

?I?d rather rent to Will Young or Will Truman than Gareth Gates or Grace
Adler! The gay men and women who have rented my flats have always looked
after them and been considerate tenants. When I?ve rented to groups of
straight men or women (and I?m speaking as a straight man myself) they?ve
been a nightmare from start to finish. I suppose it?s a case of ?Queer Eye
for the Straight House!? (John, Brighton)

* 87% of lesbian and gay tenants preferred to have a lesbian or gay
?landlord?, with 30% claiming to have experienced homophobia from a straight
landlord.

* 81% of gay and lesbian flat-sharers said that they would rather share with
other lesbians or gay men, with 34% having experienced homophobia from
heterosexual flatmates


Estate Agents are failing their gay customers:

* 94% of respondents thought that that lesbians and gay men have specific
issues when looking for housing. The issues most commonly highlighted were
living in a safe area (62%, as above) and wanting to live in an area where
they could ?be themselves? and be accepted as part of a community (30%).
Importantly, 71% thought that Estate Agents have failed to recognise these
needs.

* 29% of those surveyed felt that they had been compelled to ?come out? to
an estate agent to get the service they needed:

?It would have been funny if it hadn?t been so rooted in prejudice. Our
agent refused to show my boyfriend and me any one-bed flats because he had
made an assumption that we would need a bedroom each. I eventually had to
explain to him that we were a gay couple, and his eyes nearly popped out of
his head. He eventually showed us a couple of one-bed properties, but got
very shifty when showing us the bedrooms.? (Sean, Bristol)

* 76% felt that if they knew a local estate agent was gay-friendly, they
would be more likely to take their business to them:

?I wish we had a gay-friendly agency around here. I?m fed up with giving my
hard-earned cash to ?jack-the-lad? types who I know snigger about me when I
leave their office? (Paul, North London)

?I put my flat on the market with an agency who were by no means the closest
to the property, but I knew at least one agent there was gay, so his
colleagues were all gay-friendly, and I felt more comfortable asking them to
come in to value my home. I was really pleased with their service, and would
use them again? (Steve, Brighton)

* When questioned about buying and selling property, sexuality is seen to be
far less important, with only 10% of respondents saying that they would
prefer to sell to a lesbian or gay man, and 14% saying that they would
prefer to buy from a gay man or woman.

Can you spot a gay house?

* An amazing 67% of those surveyed felt that they could tell the sexuality
of a house vendor or landlord, just by looking at the d?cor:

?There?s definitely a correlation between house pride and gay pride!? (Phil,
Manchester)

?It?s obvious as soon as you walk in the door. One look at the interior
design and your gaydar goes ?ping?!? (John, Hove)

* 59% of respondents thought that gay men and women are more houseproud than
heterosexuals, maybe explaining why they are in demand as tenants!

The survey highlights the need for not only estate agents, but all those
involved in the property ?game? such as landlords, solicitors and mortgage
companies to ensure they understand the needs of lesbian and gay customers,
and to target their services accordingly.

Outlet, who commissioned the survey, are celebrating the first anniversary
of the opening of Outlet Brighton at 13 Old Steine. Outlet offers a full
sales and lettings service across Brighton & Hove and surrounding areas, and
are now also offering properties for sale in Spain, as well as holiday
apartments for rent in Brighton, London, Sitges, Barcelona and Andorra. A
selection of properties for sale and let in Brighton & Hove can be seen on
www.outlet4sales.com. Outlet Brighton is proud to serve a large number of
lesbian and gay clients.

Outlet Brighton is part of The Outlet Group, a major international property
specialist, offering a property matching service for tenant and landlords
across the country, a lettings & property management service in London, and
sales and lettings services in Spain. Outlet Holidays offers a range of
holiday apartments in London, Brighton and Spain.

Stephen Stone, Managing Director of Outlet Brighton welcomed the results of
the survey:

?Outlet has always recognised the importance of the lesbian and gay
community in Brighton and Hove and go to great lengths to understand the
needs of our customers, regardless of their sexuality. We have always known
that lesbians and gay men have certain criteria when house-hunting that
their straight peers don?t have. In this day and age, it comes as a shock to
learn from our survey that so many estate agents are failing to meet the
needs of a significant proportion of their potential customers. Too many
agents assume a gay man or woman just wants to live in a trendy apartment in
the centre of town, when our survey shows gay customers are much more
concerned about living in safe areas, and living in households where they
are free from discrimination, and are able to be themselves.?

?Landlords in Brighton and Hove are among those realising that gay men and
lesbians make great tenants, are often more house-proud, and are more likely
to look after a property. Outlet is able to find the right tenants for these
landlords, leading to longer, happier relationships between landlord and
tenant.?

?As for people being able to work out the sexuality of the vendor or
landlord of a house on the market just by looking at the d?cor; well, gay
people being more stylish may be a clich?, but it looks like there may be
some truth in it. It seems it is possible to walk into a house and know
straight away that it?s a ?gay? house!?

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