With many of us hoping to work from home for the foreseeable future, it’s more vital than ever to find like-minded flatmates. After all, shared house horror stories are all too common.
For LGBTQ+ people, finding flatmates who understand and totally support your sexuality and/or gender identity is especially important. Put simply: your home needs to be a safe space where you feel 100% comfortable to be yourself.
Because of this, it’s definitely helpful to check out new research revealing the London boroughs which are the most LGBTQ+-friendly for flatmates. The folks at CIA Landlord compiled the list by counting how many listings for LGBTQ+-friendly households there are in each borough on SpareRoom.
Waltham Forest, a borough increasingly popular with millennials, places top with 59 listings for LGBTQ+-friendly households. Lambeth – home to the highest proportion of LGB residents in the UK – places second with 49.
Hackney, also known for having a sizeable LGBTQ+ population and home to several prominent queer venues including The Glory and Dalston Superstore, is right behind with 48. Southwark (30) and Islington (25) round out the top five.
Check out the top ten below:
1. Waltham Forest (59)
2. Lambeth (49)
3. Hackney (48)
4. Southwark (30)
5. Islington (25)
6. Newham (24)
7. Tower Hamlets (16)
8. Camden (10)
9.Westminster (9)
10. Greenwich (8)
At the other end of the scale, there are precisely zero listings for LGBTQ+-friendly households in five London boroughs, all of which lie a little further away from the city centre: Richmond upon Thames, Havering, Bexley, Hillingdon and Barnet.
In three other boroughs – Kingston upon Thames, Enfield and Hounslow – there is just one LGBTQ+-friendly listing apiece.
It’s worth noting, of course, that many households in these and other London boroughs may be entirely LGBTQ+-friendly without explicitly mentioning it.
Still, the new research definitely gives a flavour as to which parts of London could be most welcoming to people wanting to live in a LGBTQ+-friendly flat share. Happy home-hunting!
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
LGBTQ+ Youth Are Facing A Mental Health Crisis