Non-binary people face specific challenges when it comes to accessing housing, beyond their financial insecurity. In April this year, Sexualiarte sent a submission to the European Commission as part of the development of the EU’s strategy to combat housing exclusion. The issue of housing was also on the agenda at the 10th International Trans Council organised by Trans Europe and Central Asia (TGEU) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which took place in September this year.
According to the 2024 LGBTIQA+ survey by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, 33 per cent of non-binary people in Spain have experienced difficulties accessing housing at some point in their lives; 29 per cent had to live with friends or family for a time; 4 per cent in temporary or emergency accommodation; 8 per cent in a place unsuitable for habitation; and 4 per cent had to sleep rough.
12 per cent of these people cite their gender identity or expression as one of the three main reasons why they experienced homelessness, 31 per cent cite problems with family or relationships, and 60 per cent cite financial problems or insufficient income.
Of those aged between 18 and 24, 53 per cent cite problems with family or relationships as one of the three main reasons for their homelessness, and 50 per cent cite financial problems or insufficient income. This reflects the difficulties young non-binary people face in becoming independent from their families, even whilst suffering discrimination and violence within the family. According to the same survey, 16 per cent of non-binary people have experienced violence or sexual assault at home, and 10 per cent have experienced harassment. According to a 2022 study by the Ministry of Equality, for many non-binary people the family is not a safe place: nearly 30 per cent say their family does not accept or questions their gender identity, and 80 per cent have experienced discrimination in family settings or activities. It is striking that 14 per cent of non-binary people aged 15–17 had to live with friends for a time, which most likely reflects the discrimination they face within their families.
Looking for a place to live and returning to the closet
The lack of legal recognition of non-binary identities in Spain means that non-binary people have to go back into the closet when looking for a place to live. As most have not legally changed their name – the procedure outside the Trans Law is tedious and does not guarantee the desired outcome – this involves having to use their deadname and the gender assigned at birth when communicating with potential landlords and/or estate agents, and, if successful, having a tenancy agreement in their deadname and the gender assigned at birth. This can lead to discrimination and humiliating situations, particularly when a person’s gender expression does not match the gender assigned at birth.
Looking for a room in a shared flat comes with its own set of challenges. Most platforms do not allow you to identify as non-binary, or to specify that you want to share with trans and/or non-binary people. Although shared flats are often labelled as ‘LGBT-friendly’, in practice, ‘LGB-friendly’ unfortunately often does not mean ‘T-friendly’.
In the case of room-by-room rentals where the landlord or an agency makes the decisions, there is always the risk of having to share a flat with a transphobic person, as you often do not know the people you will be living with before signing a tenancy agreement, or when a new person moves in, those already living in the flat are not consulted. Although in these situations no one can be guaranteed that they will get on with everyone they live with, this is not the same as having to live with a transphobic person.
At the TGEU Trans Council, a number of recommendations were discussed. Firstly, the legal recognition of all trans identities, including non-binary identities, whilst at the same time removing the sex/gender field from ID cards and other identification documents that may be required. Having an ‘X’ gender marker would force a non-binary person to come out the moment they have to show their ID card, which opens the door to transphobic discrimination.
Non-binary precarity
According to the survey by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, almost 20 per cent of non-binary people are unemployed, taking only the economically active non-binary population into account – that is, excluding students and retired people. This figure is significantly higher than the general unemployment rate. Just over half have a permanent full-time job, around 12 per cent are in temporary or part-time work, and nearly 15 per cent are self-employed. This leads to a high degree of job insecurity, which makes it difficult to access housing. To secure accommodation, it is often necessary to be able to prove you have a permanent job, or, failing that, to have someone act as a guarantor; many non-binary people therefore face problems. Either because they lack stable employment, or because of the difficulty in finding a guarantor. Often these are parents, but if your family does not accept you, then what? And if you cannot turn to your parents or other relatives for a guarantee, things become complicated, as within the non-binary community there are not many people in a sufficiently stable position to act as a guarantor.
Trans or non-binary migrants often face the same problem, quite apart from racist discrimination. The lack of networks that include economically privileged people (who could act as guarantors) makes it difficult to access housing.
According to the 2020 survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (this question was not asked in 2024), 52 per cent of non-binary people found it very difficult, difficult or somewhat difficult to make ends meet, compared with 45.1 per cent of the general population in the same year. This reflects the high rate of unemployment or underemployment amongst non-binary people and the difficulty they face in finding stable, well-paid work.
This precarious situation is often compounded by the need to pay for gender-affirming treatments not covered by the Spanish Social Security system. For example, in most Autonomous Communities, in order to be eligible for a mastectomy, it is a requirement to take testosterone for a minimum period – one year or more – simply to be placed on the waiting list for this surgery. However, many non-binary people do not wish to take testosterone, yet need a mastectomy for gender affirmation. Consequently, a non-binary person may face the dilemma of spending their money on the desired surgery or on housing – a situation in which no one should find themselves.
It was also noted at the Trans Council that social housing organisations and social services often fail to recognise trans or non-binary people as a particularly vulnerable group, which means that their housing needs are not prioritised.
Proposals
Beyond the legal recognition of non-binary identities and the removal of sex/gender from national identity cards and other identification documents, the Trans Council in Ljubljana put forward several proposals to tackle the precarious living conditions faced by trans and non-binary people:
- Public funding for housing projects for trans and/or non-binary people, such as housing cooperatives, co-housing schemes, etc. Without funding, trans and/or non-binary people generally do not have access to these forms of housing, as they require an initial deposit to join the scheme. Furthermore, most such projects are cis-heteronormative and favour white, upper-middle-class people
- Recognition of trans and non-binary people as a particularly vulnerable group and the provision of emergency aid to prevent evictions or to pay the deposit required to access housing.
- The removal of barriers to access certain gender-affirming treatments for non-binary people and the inclusion of these treatments and surgeries in the Social Security scheme, to ensure that a non-binary person’s meagre income is not spent on surgery rather than on housing costs.
Housing problems are almost universal. However, trans and non-binary people face specific barriers and discrimination, which require specific responses – not all of which fall strictly within the sphere of housing.
The struggle for the right to decent housing is also a struggle for non-binary people.
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