On Wednesday May 26th, NAR (National Association of Realtors) announced a partnership with LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. The Alliance was founded in June 2020 and has more than 1,200 members across the United States and Canada. According to a statement given by NAR, the partnership with the new non-profit organization was made in order to promote home ownership and equality in housing for the LGBTQ+ community. The goal is to work together to create training opportunities that can prepare LGBTQ leaders and those in support of mutually beneficial federal policies throughout other pro LGBTQ+ initiatives in the real estate industry.
“NAR has long championed LGBTQ+ rights in the housing market, and we’re proud to continue leading today’s industry in the fight against discrimination,” says Charlie Oppler, the president of NAR.
Partnership in Time for Pride Month
“As the nation recognizes Pride Month this June, we’re excited to announce this partnership with the Alliance and begin our work toward initiatives that will provide tremendous benefits to American real estate and our society as a whole,” says Oppler.
According to a recent survey conducted by LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance in partnership with Freddie Mac, a lot of people working in the real estate community are still unaware of the fact that gender identities and sexual orientation are not protected classes under the Fair Housing Act.
NAR has been working to preventing all inconveniences that members of the LGBTQ+ community commonly face while on the search for homeownership, as well as ensuring that the community of Realtors refrains from discrimination based on a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
Changes to the Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act
In 2011 and 2013, NAR made changes to its code of ethics, in order to make sure that Realtors were upholding housing protections for the LGBTQ+ community members. Recently, the Department of Housing and Urban Development changed its enforcement of the Fair Housing Act with the goal of stopping discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The partnership between NAR and the Alliance is built on a mutual desire to advance the shared interests of our members, supporting both the Alliance’s mission and NAR’s core values to lead change while advancing diversity and inclusion,” says Bob Goldberg, the CEO of NAR.
He also added that NAR would continue to explore further partnerships with organizations that share the same values and commitment as them.
This partnership between NAR and the Alliance sparks the potential to further develop ways to help end discrimination among the LGBTQ+ Community.
Thanks for reading! Want more news on the real estate marketplace? Make sure to check out more of our blog posts.
