Tenancy Support
Very often transgender people are excluded from the opportunity to access long-term housing, including private rental, because of the pre-conceived ideas and assumptions that others might have about transgender people or their appearance may not be as expected. A transgender person's capacity to manage a tenancy is often based on these superficial assumptions and not on the more important issues of having the capacity to manage a tenancy, paying the rent, maintaining the property to a high standard and being a good neighbour.
Who Are Transgender People?
Transgender people are people who undertake day to day living the same as everyone else. Transgender people are employed individuals, parents, partners, family members and people with the same budgeting and independent living skills as other member of society. Transgender people are like everyone else. They are no more difficult or challenging as tenants than any other potential applicant for a tenancy.
Support that the Gender Centre Can Offer
The Gender Centre can assist with referrals for tenancies and by providing a commitment to support the new tenant in preserving their tenancy. We can provide early intervention support for tenancy providers such as landlords, real estate agents and community housing providers when they have identified issues that place their tenant at risk of becoming homeless, as well as early intervention and support for tenants who are experiencing difficulties with rent or rental arrears by arranging brokerage for the tenant. We can also provide support for tenants who are experiencing life issues that place their tenancy at risk - such as difficulty with neighbours.
Benefits of the Gender Centre's Tenancy Support Program
The successful management of tenancies means long-term tenants, lower vacancy rates and less need for turnaround in occupancy. The risk of issues arising within the tenancy such as poor property maintenance issues lessens as our case workers support tenants who may be struggling to manage a property due to life issues or changes. By providing training to prospective tenants on how to preserve a tenancy, so that housing providers can be assured that the applicants referred by the Gender Centre have a solid knowledge of the skills and issues they need to give consideration to when undertaking a tenancy.
Benefits can also include tenancies being more successfully managed so that any tenant who may be struggling can be provided with support before issues become too problematic or require tribunal or other legal action, and the engagement of private enterprise in working with marginalised populations such as transgender people is good corporate citizenship and global corporate social responsibility.
