Even though we are now living in the 21st century, housing discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and couples is still legal in many states, and members of our community can be denied a place to live based solely on whom we love.

In Washington state, House Bill 2661 was passed in 2006 to ban discrimination in employment, insurance, and housing on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression or identity. At the federal level, efforts to ensure housing equality are now underway to add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" as protected characteristics to the Fair Housing Act., thus providing consistent and explicit nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people. According to the Human Rights Campaign (https://www.hrc.org/resources/fair-and-equal-housing-act), the bipartisan Fair and Equal Housing Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on June 27, 2023, but has not yet been reintroduced in the Senate.

Even in states with housing protections for LGBTQ+ people, discrimination still happens. But in our state, the Western Washington chapter of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance is here to help.

Launched as a national nonprofit organization in 2020, the Alliance brings together leading real estate professionals with other members of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to enhance the work of its members in the industry and to provide consumers with resources to assist in buying, selling, and enjoying their home.

Based in Minnesota, the Alliance has 50 chapters nationwide and a membership exceeding 4,000 brokerages, lenders, title firms, and ancillary service providers. It is noteworthy that 20% of its members are straight allies who want to ensure that they run their businesses ethically.

The Alliance embraces all people, reflecting the fact that the Queer population in America is made up of people from all walks of life.

"It's all abilities, all races, all ethnicities," said Spencer Eiseman, current president of the Alliance's Western Washington chapter and a real estate broker at Windermere Abode in Tacoma.

"Our community is so encompassing that we advocate for all marginalized groups getting into homeownership. That's what we're about. We really try and make sure all those voices are heard within the Alliance."

The Alliance's national convention is coming up on Sept. 25-27 in Las Vegas. Last year it was held in Houston, with Mayor John Whitmire in attendance.

"They volunteered their whole police force to be there for security, which was amazing," Eiseman said.

Discrimination hits home
Eiseman related some statistics to illustrate the breadth of this housing bias: there are 1.2 million same-sex households in the US, there were a record 31,216 complaints regarding fair housing in 2022, and LGBTQ+ people are not protected in 29 states currently

"With the political climate in certain states, we're seeing a pretty [large] migration of LGBTQ+ people, especially to areas like Washington, where it is fairly safe and okay to be part of the community," he said. "We're seeing a lot of people leaving Texas, Florida, and Indiana, those types of places."

When asked to talk about clients that have faced prejudice, Eiseman said he and his husband themselves have experienced it in Washington state. They were trying to buy a home in a new-construction plat but hit a roadblock when the site representative learned that it would be for a same-sex couple.

"They had gotten wind that it would be two men and then told us that this house was no longer in progress and that it was going to be put on hold for the time being," Eiseman said. "We would drive by occasionally, and that house was in progress. We found out that it sold soon after were trying to buy it."

Prospective LGBTQ+ buyers face unique considerations when looking for a place to call home. Triggers include putting two male or female names on the purchase and sale agreement. Sometimes someone may not know how to work with a Transgender client or interact with someone who doesn't use gender pronouns that the seller or agent is used to. These are just a few examples of what can lead to an outright purchase denial — or something more subtle, as happened with Eiseman and his husband.

"Unfortunately, I don't think there are enough checks and balances in place in the real estate industry in general to properly report those things and to get people reprimanded," Eiseman said, noting that a lot of people fear discrimination in housing to the extent that they don't even think about owning their own home. They just stick to renting, because they think that's what they need to do to be safe."

Education is key
The Alliance as a whole accentuates the importance of education, and this is certainly true for the Western Washington chapter.

"We do a lot of educational classes," Eiseman said. "Part of our chapter structure... is to do four quarterly lunch-and-learns and other education around our community. It doesn't always have to be about real estate, but we try and make it all-encompassing and open to the public, not just our members."

At the national level, the Alliance's education outreach includes a quarterly "Certified Ally Course" given virtually. The next one is on Aug. 8, 2—4 p.m. This is an interactive session to help attendees develop a better understanding of the LGBTQ+ community by providing knowledge on how to work with potential homebuyers and sellers who identify as part Queer. Straight-ally participants get the opportunity to learn about discrimination issues their LGBTQ+ clients face and thus can foster cultural competency in their profession.

In addition to being president of the Alliance's Western Washington chapter, Eiseman is vice president of the Tacoma-Pierce County Young Professionals Network Board; Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; and Washington REALTORS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. This is how he exercises his educational outreach at a local level, by incorporating advocacy into his professional involvements.

Beyond real estate
The Western Washington chapter also reaches out beyond real state concerns to support the local LGBTQ+ community. On Oct. 19, The Point restaurant and bar in Burien will host the chapter's second annual drag brunch fundraiser for Lambert House. The public is invited to join in and help exceed the $8,000 raised for Lambert House last year.

The Alliance stays involved politically as well, tracking all anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country (Eiseman said there were 580 anti-LGBTQ+ bills among 45 states in 2023) and where some the funding comes from to support these measures. One funding source is RPAC, the largest trade organization in the world for realtors.

"We're tracking where all our PAC money goes for candidates," Eiseman said, "and we've discovered that a lot of money has gone to anti-LGBTQ+ measures. It's supposed to be nonpartisan and care only about housing and housing issues, but for me as a realtor, I care way more about my own [Queer] community than I do my realtor community.

"We're doing what we can to try and push back on those efforts, because it's more than $3 million at this point that has gone to candidates that are pushing these bills that are directly harmful to anybody in our community, especially young people."

Celebrating with Pride
Pride season is a prime time for the Western Washington Alliance chapter to get out and share information on its work. The local chapter participated again this year in the Seattle Pride March and the Tacoma Pride Festival, and the national Alliance published a special Pride magazine that can be found at https://realestatealliance.org/pride-2024.

Eiseman said the local chapter is continually growing its membership — not just with real estate professionals like lenders and agents but also with goods and services providers like home cleaners and photographers, for example. Sponsors for the chapter's events are warmly welcome as well, and the chapter makes sure they receive ample public acknowledgment for their sponsorship.

Learn more about the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance at https://realestatealliance.org and the Western Washington chapter on Instagram at @alliance_westernwa.