Gender (Sex) Discrimination (Including Gender Identity)

Gender discrimination under fair housing laws includes treating someone differently because they are male or female. In addition, recent guidance issued by the federal government also protects persons from housing discrimination due to their gender identity under the federal protection of gender. Topics below include domestic violence, gender identity/expression/transgender, and sexual harassment.

Gender based housing discrimination can take many forms including:

• Being denied housing or a housing related service due to your gender.
• Having rules or policies applied differently to you due to your gender.
• Having a housing provider make sexually explicit comments to you; solicit you for sex or sexual favors in exchange for rent, deposits, to have repairs made, or to keep an eviction from happening.
• One-strike-you’re-out policies which unfairly impact survivors of domestic violence by keeping them from being able to reach out for help or assistance.

Domestic Violence and Assault: 

• FHCCI Domestic Violence and Assault and Fair Housing Laws Fact Sheet:
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Burmese
• HUD/DOJ Guidance:
  • Justice Department Issues Letter to State and Local Police Departments and Governments Explaining that Certain Housing Programs May Violate Federal Law, August 15, 2024
  • HUD Guidance on Home Lending and Appropriate Placement for Transgender Persons in Homeless Shelters 2-20-2015
  • HUD Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Enforcement of Local Nuisance and Crime-Free Housing Ordinances Against Victims of Domestic Violence, Other Crime Victims, and Others Who Require Police or Emergency Services, September 13, 2016
  • HUD Memo on Fair Housing Complaints and Domestic Violence, February 9, 2011
  • HUD Domestic Violence Certification Form 2008
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Joint Statement Regarding Immigrant and Domestic Violence Survivor Access to Housing & Services, August 5, 2016
• Indiana Landlord/Tenant Law:
  • Indiana Code 32-31-9 (applicable domestic violence/sexual assault protections in housing)
• Other Resources:
  • ACLU Publication on “Fair Housing for Battered Women: Preventing Homelessness Through Civil Rights Laws”
  • ACLU Publication on “Housing Discrimination and Domestic Violence”
  • ACLU Publication on “The Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors in Public and Subsidized Housing”
  • Domestic Violence & Fair Housing as published by the National Law Center

Gender Identity, Expression, and Transgender:

Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth, including but not limited to transsexuals, crossdressers, androgynous people, genderqueers, and gender non-conforming people. Recent guidance issued by the federal government protects persons from housing discrimination due to their gender identity under the federal protection of gender. Residents of Indianapolis and Marion County also have such protection from housing discrimination under a local ordinance. Some states (Indiana not included) also provide state protection. You should review your state’s fair housing law or your community’s human rights/relations law or ordinance for any local protections.

• FHCCI Transgender/Gender Identity in Housing Fact Sheet:
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Burmese
• HUD/DOJ Guidance:
  • HUD Final Rule on Equal Access in Accordance with an Individual’s Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs, September 21, 2016
  • HUD Guidance on Home Lending and Appropriate Placement for Transgender Persons in Homeless Shelters, February 15, 2015
  • HUD Memo on Investigation of Complaints Regarding Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression, June 15, 2010
  • HUD Guidance on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Protection under the Federal Fair Housing Act, July 1, 2010
  • HUD Final Rule on Equal Access to HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, February 2, 2012
• Indianapolis/Marion County Ordinance (includes gender identity) (choose the link for Chapter 581)
• Other Resources:
  • Action Steps to Being a Transgender Ally
  • National Center for Transgender Equality: Fair Housing and Transgender People Fact Sheet
• Reports/Studies of Interest:
  • Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People, 2006
  • Injustice at Every Turn – A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Study, 2011
  • On the Streets – The Federal Response to Gay and Transgender  Homeless Youth, 2010
  • Transcending Prejudice: Gender Identity and Expression-Based Discrimination in the Metro Boston Rental Housing Market, 2017

Sexual Harassment: 

• HUD/DOJ Guidance:
  • HUD Webpage on Sexual Harassment (includes videos and online training)
  • HUD Fact Sheet: Preventing and Addressing Sexual and Other Discriminatory Harassment in Housing
    • For PHA Executive Staff and Commissioners
    • For PHA Employees
    • For Private Housing Owners and Managers Participating in Voucher Programs
    • For Tenants of Public Housing and Voucher Programs
  • HUD Guidance on Sexual Harassment
  • Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices Under the Fair Housing Act, HUD Proposed Rule, October 21, 2015
  • Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices under the Fair Housing Act FINAL Rule, September 13, 2016
• Reports/Studies of Interest:
  • Sexual Harassment of Low-Income Women in Housing: Pilot Study Results, Rigel C. Oliveri, Summer 2018.