Happy, gay, but homeless

Lack of awareness about rights of queer groups has made it difficult for gays to get a house on rent, despite homosexuality being decriminalised

Happy, gay, but homeless

Lack of awareness about rights of queer groups has made it difficult foru00a0 gays to get a house on rent, despite homosexuality being decriminalised

The Delhi High Court ruling in July saying that homosexuals are not criminals was intended to make life easy for them. But it's the ruling and increased awareness about homosexuals among the public that has made it difficult for gays to rent homes.

After HC decision...
"Since the High Court ruling in July, I've had a lot more complaints from gays about discrimination," said Bindumadhav Khire, head of Sampathik Trust, which is the oldest and largest organisation working for gay rights in Pune.

"Now, people are being forced to acknowledge gays. And conservative Puneites aren't happy about it,"
he added.

No gays please
Estate agents also agree that recently there has been an increased scrutiny of tenants, especially when same-sex couples want to rent homes. "Clients do not say it directly, but instruct us to look for only families.

Landlords are not keen when they're told that the tenants are bachelors and get suspicious," said Aziz Mhaisale, owner of A-1 Real Estates.

Added Sonam Mahajan, proprietor of Twin Estates, "Ninety-five per cent of landlords won't rent houses to gays, even if the societies are fine with the idea. It doesn't make sense for gays to disclose their identities, it'll only make things tough for them. Some societies even give explicit instructions saying they don't want foreigners, bachelors or gays."

Couples angry
This leaves gay couples with no option but to hide their sexual preference. "My partner and I didn't tell the society that we were gay, but neighbours are snoopy. We don't know how they found out and there was a big fuss about it later. We had to move after 10 days notice," said Rohit Sharma (name changed). A call centre employee, Sharma has now found another house, but has hidden his sexuality.

Saanj Patil (24), a volunteer with Mukta HIV/AIDS helpline, has been looking for a house with his partner for over a year-and-a-half, but has yet to find one. He believes it's probably because he's upfront about his identity. "We don't want to live in guilt. I haven't done anything wrong, so why should I hide my sexuality? Anyway, these things have a way of coming out," said Patil.

Patil admits that the court ruling has led to greater scrutiny of couples.