New feature gives homebuyers a better sense of what a home and its neighborhood offer by showing the LGBT non-discrimination laws that exist for housing, employment, and public accommodations

San Francisco, CA--Today, Trulia®, a home and neighborhood site that helps homebuyers and renters discover a place they’ll love to live, announced the launch of Local Legal Protections. This new feature is available on every Trulia property details page to help homebuyers get a better feel for a home and its neighborhood by showing what legal protections exist for individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBTⁱ) in the jurisdiction of any prospective for-sale home.

The Local Legal Protections feature highlights what laws are in place to protect fair and equal treatment in housing, employment, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Currently, national housing and employment non-discrimination laws only protect some classes, such as sex, race, age, color, religion, and national origin, among others. Explicit protections for individuals who identify as LGBT can vary significantly by city, county, and state jurisdiction. Across the United States, an estimated 55.2% of all housing units are covered by local protections for sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and 22 states, plus Washington, D.C., have full protections for housing, employment, and public accommodationsⁱⁱ. To shed light on the patchwork nature of LGBT non-discrimination laws, and help people better understand a neighborhood and community, Trulia’s Local Legal Protections feature provides details on which protections exist, what they mean, and if those protections are provided at the state, county, or city level.

“At Trulia, our mission is to help all prospective homebuyers and renters find the best home and neighborhood for them, and for the LGBT community, non-discrimination laws can be different in each state, county, and city,” said Tim Correia, senior vice president and general manager of Trulia. “The Local Legal Protections feature helps the LGBT community understand the confusing patchwork of protection laws that exist so they truly can find a place they love to live.”

Available for every for-sale and off-market listing on Trulia, the Local Legal Protections feature is powered by data from the Movement Advancement Project, an independent nonprofit organization that provides research on equality for LGBT people.

“Choosing a home is one of the most significant decisions in people’s lives,” said Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, which contributed data essential to building this feature. “For many, a primary consideration isn’t just the house, but whether they will be moving to a neighborhood where they are protected and feel supported. This groundbreaking feature will help LGBT people look not only for the right home, but also the right community.”

For more information about Trulia’s Local Legal Protections feature, visit Trulia's blog. 

About Trulia
Trulia is a vibrant home shopping marketplace, focused on giving homebuyers, sellers, and renters the information they need to make better decisions. On mobile and the Web, Trulia provides house hunters with insights and unique information about properties, neighborhoods, and real estate agents. Additionally, Trulia offers data and information about schools, crimes, commute times, and the real estate market. Launched in 2005, Trulia is based in San Francisco and is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG).

Trulia is a registered trademark of Trulia, LLC.

i. Most laws are written to cover only LGBT because “Q” (“questioning” or “queer”) is not consistently defined from a policy perspective. Therefore, the data provided by the Movement Advancement Project does not include specific references to people who identify as “queer” or “questioning.”

ii. Trulia estimated the number of housing units covered by local protections for the LGBT community based on jurisdictions identified by the Movement Advancement Project. In terms of counting housing units, we used U.S. Census 2016 5-Year American Community Survey estimates. Note that these estimates are subject to margins of error.

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MAP's mission is to provide independent and rigorous research, insight and communications that help speed equality and opportunity for all. MAP works to ensure that all people have a fair chance to pursue health and happiness, earn a living, take care of the ones they love, be safe in their communities, and participate in civic life.