With partners Stonewall Housing, we are now challenging the sector to sign up to the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge by HouseProud and Stonewall Housing - you'll be in very good company, and together we can make our homes better for our LGBTQ+ residents. Here's what it's all about, all you need to know, some case studies and how to apply. 

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What is the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge?

The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge is a scheme that all social housing providers (housing associations, local authorities and ALMOs) can sign up to, to demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ resident equality and support.  It was  developed by HouseProud and the University of Surrey in association with residents, staff members and sector leaders to address the issues raised by the findings of ‘No Place Like Home?’, the largest study ever undertaken to understand LGBTQ+ experiences of social housing. 

It's now delivered in partnership with Stonewall Housing

Why is it needed?

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The home is of central importance to LGBTQ+ residents, because it should be a place where people can freely express their sexual orientation and/ or gender identity without fear or prejudice.  Sadly, despite recent changes in equality laws, LGBTQ+ residents continue to experience discrimination in their everyday lives, including in relation to their housing.  Our research found that 60% of trans respondents did not feel that their neighbourhood was a safe place to live and one in five gay men reported modifying their home in some way (e.g. moving pictures or books) to hide their sexual orientation from a visiting repairs operative or housing officer.  A third of respondents also felt that their housing provider was not able to deal effectively with issues like harassment.

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What is the opportunity?

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Residents told us that they want their landlord to move beyond token gestures – the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge provides a framework for landlords to work with involved residents to take action and demonstrate their commitment to LGBTQ+ equality and support.  With the recent regulatory changes in how social housing should be delivered,  the Government has called on the sector to empower residents and strengthen accountability. The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge has been designed to help housing providers work with involved LGBTQ+ residents and foster positive relationships.

What is involved?  

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Many housing providers already work with LGBTQ+ involved residents – signing up to the Scheme offers recognition for this.  The LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge scheme is based on two levels of accreditation – Pledge Pioneer and Pledge Plus.  We ask that all housing providers deliver three core commitments to foster engagement with LGBTQ+ residents (Pledge Pioneer).  Following the delivery of these, landlords can work with involved residents to co-design projects and achieve the higher level of accreditation (Pledge Plus).

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Required from housing provider on the date of signing up - we now call this 'Pledge Promise' 

General info required on signing-up:

•       Key contact (for day-to-day communication)

•       Name and signature of chief executive

•       Date of sign-up

Evidence required for ‘Pledge Pioneer’ accreditation:

1. LGBTQ+ residents can have input at executive / strategic level

Provide a minimum of two of the following:

• Provide terms of reference of the resident group demonstrating LGBTQ+ inclusion

• Evidence of a recent resident group meeting / calendar of meetings

• Evidence of policy impact assessments that specifically consider the needs of LGBTQ+ residents

• Process map for LGBTQ+ residents to input at executive / strategic level and evidence this has been    implemented

• Profile of a senior champion (director, executive member, resident board member, independent board member) within the organisation.  This should make explicit how this person is championing LGBTQ+ issues

• Action plan of the resident group demonstrating LGBTQ+ inclusion

• Testimonial from an LGBTQ+ involved resident to confirm how they have been involved with the organisation

• Evidence of LGBTQ+ residents’ involvement at board and / or committee level

1. Increase LGBTQ+ visibility in your organisation by displaying the  Logo in your internal and external communication channels, including website and social media within 3 months of signing up and Provide a minimum of two of the following:

• Publishing your sign up to the pledge along with an explanation of what you are doing to achieve Pledge Pioneer (or Pledge Plus) status in your organisation

• Include the organisation’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge in the annual report and explanation of actions taken

• Articles / news releases published, which explicitly mention involvement in the Pledge Scheme

• Evidence that you have included the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge in presentations given externally

• Evidence that you have included the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge in staff inductions

• Evidence of LGBTQ+ charities you have supported as a organisation

• Evidence of attendance at LGBTQ+ events with your staff and  residents (Pride, LGBT+ History Month, Networking etc)

• Evidence of staff and resident initiatives aimed at increasing LGBTQ+ visibility (lanyards, email signatures, pronoun badges etc.)

• Provide specific LGBTQ+ training to staff (we can provide you with a list of providers).

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Provide a minimum of one of the following:

• Evidence of LGBTQ+ training delivered by a specialist LGBTQ+ provider

• Evidence of training that focuses on LGBTQ+ social housing residents

• Evidence to demonstrate that diversity and inclusion training for staff explicitly covers LGBTQ+ inclusion

• Evidence of e-learning used by staff members that specifically addresses LGBTQ+ inclusion

• Evidence that you have commissioned bespoke LGBTQ+ inclusion training for your organisation

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Evidence required for ‘Pledge Plus’ accreditation

Organisations ready to take the step towards Pledge Plus accreditation, must be able to evidence for all of the following:

• Evidence that LGBTQ+ residents have co-produced the Pledge Plus goals

• Evidence of an action plan that has been co-produced with LGBTQ+ residents to address particular issues

• Evidence of allocation of resource to achieve the goals in the organisation (e.g. they have been included in team work plans, have been included in someone’s objectives etc)

• Evidence of progress towards the goals

• Evidence of outputs and outcomes against the goals

• Demonstrate that progress towards the goals has been communicated to residents e.g. news article or included within the organisation’s annual report

• Testimonial from at least one LGBTQ+ resident to share their experience of co-producing the goals and the impact they have seen in the organisation

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How do I sign up?

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Signing up to the LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge by HouseProud and Stonewall Housing is free of charge. If your organisation has not yet signed up, you can do so now. Simply email houseproudpledge@stonewallhousing.org with ‘LGBTQ+ Housing Pledge by HouseProud and Stonewall Housing’ in the title and we’ll get back in touch to confirm some details and get the ball rolling