Real estate listing site Zillow will now inform users about LGBTQ non-discrimination protections.
Before this, all home listings on Zillow’s site showed information regarding housing, employment, and public accommodations (like public transportation or nearby schools). But now, according to the Georgia Voice, that information will include sexual orientation protections and gender identity protections. Though that filter won’t work for people who identify as queer or questioning, as government policies vary too greatly to follow and collect that information. This decision was made as a result of the June 15 Supreme Court ruling that supported non-workplace discrimination against LGBTQ people.
“It’s 2020, and yet, unfortunately, in many parts of the United States, LGBTQ home shoppers still face housing discrimination,” said Dawn Lyon, the chief corporate relations officer at Zillow. “That’s why we strongly support federal-level protections as part of the Equality Act. In lieu of federal law and in the spirit of ‘turning on the lights,’ we want to give people the most information possible when buying, renting, and financing a home, including which communities provide equal protection under the law for all.”
But it’s not just Zillow that is making this change. According to Real Estate by Boston.com and Globe.com, Trulia, which is owned by the Zillow Group, will also add this new information. Both sites will include data about the local and state protections for LGBTQ people based on MAP data from the listings. These two sites are also likely the only real estate listing search sites in the United States to provide the filter and data collection.
“This definitely won’t end here,” said Doug Pope, the vice president of rentals product teams at Zillow. “There are other communities discriminated against in the US, and our hope is that we can expand our efforts to shine a light on the presence—or absence—of fair housing laws that impact those communities.”
Source: The Georgia Voice, Real Estate/Boston.com,
