ABOVE: Example of Zillow listing with LGBTQ protections. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Zillow, the online real estate database company, announced June 23 that it will start including information on an area’s local LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections in its listings to assist home buyers who wish to purchase a home with equal rights protections.
“Zillow believes everyone deserves a safe, affordable home, free of discrimination,” the company stated on its website. “Federal law does not provide those protections. That’s why Zillow is shining a spotlight on towns and cities that have LGBTQ+ protections, and those that don’t. Information on LGBTQ+ housing, employment and public accommodation laws is now available on all Zillow home listings across the nation.”
The information is aggregated and provided by the LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project and is also available on local and state government websites. Within a home listing on Zillow, homebuyers will see a rainbow shield icon with a breakdown of that home’s area LGBTQ protections in Housing, Employment and Public Accommodations for both sexual orientation and gender identity.
“It’s 2020, and yet in many parts of the United States, you still can be discriminated against for being LGBTQ+,” said Dawn Lyon, Zillow chief corporate relations officer, in a statement. “In lieu of federal law, we want to give people the most information possible when buying, renting and financing a home. Putting this information in every single listing shows we stand for equity and fair housing, and gives LGBTQ+ people the clarity they need to make a decision on where to live.”
Zillow is a supporter of the Equality Act, a proposed federal bill that would grant housing and public accommodation protections for all LGBTQ individuals in the U.S. A recent Supreme Court decision already ruled LGBTQ people are protected against discrimination in the workplace under current federal law.
