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The legislature of the province of Chaco passed the Law on Access to Housing and Land for the LGBTIQNB+ Population (No. 3,467) on Wednesday, November 24. “Hopefully, it can serve as an example for other provinces to replicate,” said one of its proponents, Representative Teresa Cubells, who also introduced the bill.

The law was passed with 19 votes. It received one dissenting vote from a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), while 12 legislators were absent from the vote.

It establishes a housing quota of no less than 5% of the total of each of the housing plans to be executed through the Provincial Institute of Urban Development and Housing of the province of Chaco (IPDUV), to be allocated to the LGBTIQNB+ population.

Its objective is to "establish and promote public housing policies aimed at the LGBTIQNB+ population" by guaranteeing "access to decent housing and/or other means that make it possible to reduce their housing deficit, in order to contribute to their being able to carry out an effective and full exercise of the Right to the City."

“The law not only allows access to housing but also to credit and everything else needed to guarantee these rights,” Cubells told Presentes .

In 2018, the Chaco legislature had already approved the transvestite trans job quota in the province .

A collective struggle

The congresswoman also emphasized the importance of developing these policies in collaboration with the target population. Several organizations supported the law: Furia Trava, Identidades Diversas Chaco, Trans Masculinidades y No Binaries Chaco, and 100% Diversidad y Derechos. It also received support from Úrsula Sabarece, head of the Directorate of Diversity, Sexual Dissidence, and Gender Identity, under the Secretariat of Human Rights and Gender of the Chaco government.

This law addresses a necessary housing demand for the LGBT+ population of the province and the rest of the country . Miguel Szabó, a long-time activist for LGBT+ rights and member of 100% Diversity and Rights in Chaco, told Presentes that the organization carried out the "We Take Care of Each Other" campaign, in which, in addition to providing aid, they also conducted a survey to understand the situation of the LGBT+ community in Chaco.

“I surveyed 75 people and discovered that 90% of the trans or gay population had not finished their secondary education, and only 2 out of the total had inherited a family home. The rest rented, lived on boarding houses, or borrowed money,” he said.

A law with a registration under its arm

In turn, the law contemplates the creation of a Provincial Registry of Housing Applicants for LGBTIQNB+ where the applications of people who aspire to the housing quota within the framework of this regulation must be recorded.

It also establishes an Observatory for Fair Access to Land and Housing for LGBTIQNB+ people, within the Secretariat of Human Rights and Gender, with the objective of “permanently recording updated information regarding the housing demand and needs of this specific population.” This information will be publicly accessible and “must be considered in the design of housing and related policies.”

Finally, the Secretariat of Human Rights and Gender, in coordination with the Provincial Institute of Urban Development and Housing (IPDUV) and the Secretariat of Territorial Development and Environment, will be in charge of its implementation.