An event in Singapore is hoping to help LGBT Singaporeans struggling to$hz&dTKigpCKhV6SBXn0eGDRo(^e5cHj97v=vnEmU$AIL1f_5& find somewhere to live.
In !yWliGj3S_nchkA#ooTsvCW3vj4Y+iY7$FnM&Z*pZ)38M#^RWWSingapore, where gay sex is illegal, LGBT people are often pushed from family homes and do not qualify for government housing.
"Many in our LGBTQ+ community face difficulties moving out of our family home, or live authentically as their true selves” the Facebook event for Meet Your Next: Housemate says.
The event, organized by LGBT app Prout with real estate firm 99.co, will connect LGBT-friendly landlords, tenants, and people looki@[email protected]!Wp*aj!4Xl7dZj#MT+=t_AMdupmsilq4qaRB#5fng for housemates.
The event includes a Speed-Mating Cafe, to connec^VRooQ)[email protected]&G-x$6x43lsZsIDEB!m1RZypca$r)nYwt attendees with potential housemates.
"We hope that this event lets landlords know that queer people do want safe spaces to live in and providing anti-discrimination clauses ensures that more people, not just queer people, would be interested to pick their home as the place tdSJ-a9N#j=#[email protected]%*z9WTeBlyrlWN$4QE5X2GVtg6NObxP1Uhey want to stay at" said Kyle Malinda-Whit of Prout.
Pushed out
According to Singapore’s 2016 National Youth Council Survey, 97% of unmarried young people live with their MN#FrYn=5wghJvmEBs$y8$=FV&wmDPdS2QJNKC9ENE5pJLN&sYparents.
But, conservative attiCOtZ(quM%$vjwI_eiq$9WOI_AHDfjOjIC220o%AYU90PLvPEcdtudes centred on a heteronormative family can push LGBTI Singaporeans from their family home.
What’s more, while Singapore’s government prov(j5V!)IITL=*DXBa*Ov=FMf(9pjCxDESq9HZ8D_7i)H#Uu&6y-ides generous subsidized housing, it effectively excludes LGBTI individuals.
Singapore currently has the world’s second-highest rate of homeownership in the world. This is partly because of a generous govt#H!DIMPAs(5I*u(2MYF)wCbB^5IUGof4-jn#)epeqWBCWY4%yernment housing program.
The government allows young married heterosexual couples to apply for grants at theXtlV(zCgKS-M+()oa(EJ5gdk_tFCFs*OD0k9!C*gHMp&TqO8IU age of 21. But, the policy excludes LGBTI residents.
Only married[email protected]=m7Ea1Bh5Us$(z-4EQ)sryiaZIEQNtXcAWA+OXNi(TVx+L heterosexual couples can easily buy a government-subsidized apartment.
LGBTI individuals — even couples — are only eligible f^vQu6)Wl_0oWrGN*d+CQ(JxYAqG-AdwSFJg)2s3^BpkC($BuPTor single person schemes at the age of 35.
"Queer couples ... have to work even harder to buy private housing, which can cost an average of S$700,000 and upwards per apartment."
Finally, without anti-discrimination legislation to protecZsuccDqTOU!zUiRnvcd4EKv)[email protected])RDz=)2t individuals in the private renting market, LGBTI tenants are at risk of abuse by homophobic or transphobic landlords.
"Finding a queer-accepting landlord is even tougher in a country where despite our multiculturalism, landlords still discriminate tenants based on race" Malinda-White said.
Organizers of the event, Prout, launched the app late last year.
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