A study which identified LGBT+ friendly flat listings has shown that there is one particular borough in London, which stood above all others as the most progressive if you’re looking to move into an accepting household.
A new study by CIA Landlord has identified the most desired roommate traits in London by analysing the most popular adverts by age, gender, job title and even preferences including LGBT friendly, smoker friendly and pet friendly, and it turns out that some of London’s most ethnically diverse boroughs are also, seemingly, the most accepting of LGBT+ people.
With remote working taking over the capital, finding the perfect flatmate has never been more crucial – after all, you’re likely to be spending 24/7 with them whilst working from home.
For LGBT+ people, finding flatmates who totally and completely support your sexuality and/or gender identity is especially important. Analysing SpareRoom data, CIA Landlord has revealed the most LGBT+ friendly boroughs to live in.
Take a look at the top 10 boroughs with the most LGBT friendly flatmates below:
| Rank | London Borough | LGBT+ Friendly House Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 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 just a short 30 minute journey into central London, Waltham Forest has been dubbed the most LGBT+ friendly borough for roommates, with over 17.56% of all LGBT+ room wanted listings in London based in the area. Lambeth follows in second, which unveiled the UK’s very first permanent Rainbow crossing in 2019 and the borough’s various involvements in supporting the community stays true to its citizens – with over 14.58% of all of London’s LGBT+ house listings featured in the area.
Where isn’t so LGBT+ Friendly?
The least friendly boroughs, according to the study included, Richmond Upon Thames, Havering, Bexley, Hillingdon and Barnet – which offered no explicitly LGBT+ friendly listings.
| Rank | London Borough | LGBT+ Friendly House Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Upon Thames | 0 |
| 2 | Havering | 0 |
| 3 | Bexley | 0 |
| 4 | Hillingdon | 0 |
| 5 | Barnet | 0 |
| 6 | Enfield | 1 |
| 7 | Hounslow | 1 |
| 8 | Kingston Upon Thames | 1 |
| 9 | Brent | 2 |
| 10 | Sutton | 2 |
Enfield, Hounslow and Kingston Upon Thames each offered one listing, while, Brent and Sutton had two listings available.
How did the researchers come to their findings?
To find the most desired and least desired roommate traits, CIA Landlord analysed SpareRoom data to reveal the most commonly advertised professions, ages and preferences throughout London.
Job titles have been searched as keywords exactly as listed into SpareRoom. This may result in the exclusion of keyword listings where the title was similar but not the same due to the functionality of the source’s search.
Each option point has been treated individually. Where data has been combined to show the “worst” combination of traits, this has been done on an index basis rather than using each as an individual search.
e.g. No searches have been performed for homes that are “LGBT friendly with pets and smokers allowed”. Instead, individual searches have been performed for LGBT, pets, and smokers, and these combined into a single index to show the least desirable combination.
