SALT LAKE CITY — At least three men who identify as women recently applied to live in female off-campus student housing but made other arrangements after tenants in the apartment balked at having them as roommates.
But with gender identity now on the list of protected classes in Utah's fair housing law, a landlord turning away transgender people would be discrimination.
In all three cases, the women and their parents "freaked out" and did not want their daughters sharing living space with someone who is male, even though they say they identify as female, said Paul Smith, executive director of the Utah Apartment Association.
"Does the law now say you can't say no? Does the law now say that those girls or their parents don't have any control or any expectation over somebody of the opposite gender being put in a bedroom or sharing a bathroom with them?" he asked.
The state's new law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the sale or rental of housing took effect Tuesday. It applies to property owners with four or more units. The law exempts housing maintained by a religious organization.
Kirk Cullimore, an attorney who represents landlords and property owners, said his clients are willing to comply with the law but have concerns about the implications in student housing.
Landlords don't look at race, religion or sexual orientation, but gender identity raises some issues they haven't dealt with, he said.
"In student housing, because of the shared nature of the facilities, we just don't have good answers," he said.
Marina Lowe, ACLU of Utah legislative and policy counsel, said she doesn't see any exceptions for apartment owners to deny people a place to live based on gender identity.
"That was the point of the law," she said.
Lowe said it's appropriate for transgender women to live with women, not men.
Smith and Cullimore have sought direction from the Utah Anti-Discrimination and Labor Division.
"This is new ground for us," said Kerry Chlarson, division director. "There's probably things we haven't even considered that will come up. We'll have to see how the facts play out in relationship to the statute."
The new law does not affect owners of one to three units who continue to have a legal right to discriminate for religious reasons, or refuse to rent to families with children or service animals, for example.
Of about 280,000 rental units in the state, more than 110,000 are single-family homes, 44,000 units are in duplexes and 22,000 are triplexes, Smith said.
He estimates that about one-third of the rental units in Utah don't have to follow the new law.
Cullimore noted that off-campus apartments that contract with Brigham Young University to provide student housing are exempt because the institution is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only those complexes that are not BYU-approved have to work under the new law, he said.
"We have a lot of issues in Provo, particularly," Cullimore said.
Many parents send their kids to the "other" university in the area, Utah Valley University, anticipating that they're going to get a similar experience as they would get attending BYU, he said.
"I'm sure there are going to be parents who are not happy with landlords when they're sending their kids off to college and paying for their housing. It's not going to be what they expected," he said.
Landlords typically rent student apartments by the bedroom, which are often shared with another person. Roommates don't necessarily know each other before moving in.
Smith said Ogden and Salt Lake City officials consulted with the apartment association when they drafted nondiscrimination ordinances several years ago. But, he said, lawmakers, Equality Utah and the LDS Church — the groups that brokered the state legislation — didn't talk to the rental community about potential unintended consequences.
"They cut the deal and cut everybody else out," Smith said.
Troy Williams, Equality Utah executive director, said his understanding is that a landlord could not deny housing, including student housing, to transgender people.
"To me, a transgender woman is a woman. A trans man is a man," he said.
Transgender people, he said, are living authentically as they perceive themselves to be internally.
"People just don't dress up as female one day and a male the next day. This is a persistent identity that they have. This is who they are to their core and the law does protect that," he said.
Williams said 30 years ago people were afraid to have gay roommates but now it's common. As they get to know transgender people, he said, those same fears will naturally dissipate.
"It's a new world for a lot of people," he said.
Cullimore said most landlords don't discriminate and they want to follow the rules. They're businesspeople who consider whether potential tenants will pay the rent, take care of the property and get along with their neighbors.
"Landlords understand it," he said. "There's going to have to be some changes in the mentality of our parents and students based upon this law."
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