Last night I had dinner with Mike and Jim, a nice gay couple that I helped buy a house in Highland Park. Joining us was a gentleman I hadn’t met before named Ron.
As the night went on the topic of discussion turned to real estate. Ron shared that he and his partner, Rick, rent in Buffalo Grove. Ron also shared with us how while looking at a townhouse to rent he mentioned to the landlords that he had a partner and referred to his partner as “he”. He could sense from that point that they were no longer interested in renting to him and he never heard from them again.
I asked when that happened since sexual orientation and gender identity were added to the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2005. The act covers employment, access to financial credit, the availability of public accommodations and real estate transactions. He said that it was a couple of years ago. Clearly, not all landlords in Illinois understand that refusing to rent to a gay couple is illegal.
Discrimination in real estate matters is not ok whether you’re gay, straight, bisexual, asexual or unsure of your sexuality. For more information on Illinois Fair Housing Laws visit The Housing Site.
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- Fair Housing Month 2007
- Unfortunately, Housing Discrimination Still Exists
- Chicago & Suburbs Online Rental Search Sites
- Lesbian Homeowners Sue Countrywide Home Loans
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
What happened was wrong, but if the landlords were prejudiced, they probably would have been jerks to deal with. If they care whether or not you’re gay, they’re going to poke their noses into other parts of tenants’ lives. The gay renters are probably better off wherever they are now. The landlords could have also known that the protections apply to real estate, but figured that they could get away with it.
Crap like this will keep happening if gay couples don’t stand up for themselves! Gay renters need to report bigoted landlords. Period.