A “women-only” affordable housing scheme in London has said it will accept male-born transgender women on its waiting list.
The 102-flat Brooke House in Ealing will welcome applicants who were born male but now identify as women.
However, transgender men, those born female who now identify as male, cannot apply for the development.
The Women’s Pioneer Housing Association now appears to describe the project as “women-led” rather than women-only.
Residents’ male family members will be permitted to live at the site.
Those eligible for the waiting list include women who are female by birth, those holding a gender recognition certificate, and transgender women planning or having completed gender reassignment.
The association bars men who cross-dress from applying, The View from W5 reports.
Anyone with a history of violence against women or children is also excluded.
PICTURED: A pre-construction mock-up of Brooke House in Ealing, west London. The ‘women-only’ block will welcome applicants who were born male but now identify as women
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GRID ARCHITECTS
Residents who transition from female to male after moving in would not face eviction.
The Women’s Pioneer Housing Association manages around 1,000 properties across West London.
Most of these are studio or one-bedroom flats in converted Victorian and Edwardian buildings.
The organisation’s stated aim is ensuring all single women in London can access safe, secure and affordable housing.
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The Supreme Court ruled in July that the terms “sex”, “man” and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.
This judgement has prompted several organisations to change their membership policies.
One, the Girl Guides, has stopped accepting transgender women as members following the ruling.
The Girlguiding charity is facing legal action from a mother who has claimed its policies are “illegal and unsafe” because they allow biological males to join and volunteer.
The Supreme Court confirmed in July that the terms ‘sex’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex
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The Women’s Institute has also barred transgender women from joining.
But the Women’s Pioneer Housing Association’s approach still allows trans women to apply for housing – despite the court’s ruling.
At the block’s topping-out ceremony earlier this year, Tracey Downie, the chief executive of Women’s Pioneer Housing, said it “has worked for more than 100 years with single women, including in Ealing, and we strongly believe that providing more good-quality, affordable homes for women is critically important, particularly during this cost-of-living and energy crisis.
“This new building will provide a real home for many single women in dire need.
“We are more than just ‘bricks and mortar’ – we support our residents’ independence, and this new building will provide a real home for many women who face acute housing insecurity.”
Peter Mason, the leader of Ealing Council, said, “The 102 new flats being built at Brook House will provide a safe, secure, genuinely affordable place to call home for some of the hundreds of women on the waiting list for social housing in our borough.
“London’s affordable housing crisis disproportionately impacts women, who still face a gender pay gap that sees them on average earn less than men, these flats will be a lifeline for women who are unable to privately rent.”