In Aotearoa, rainbow people are more likely than their peers to experience homelessness, unsafe housing or unstable living situations. Housing precarity is even more likely for rainbow people who are also Māori, Pacific, disabled, recent migrants or living in poverty.
Homelessness can include being without shelter (like sleeping in streets or parks), couch-surfing, living in cars, or staying in temporary places like motels and hostels, unsuitable places like garages or sheds, or at shelters or services for people without homes.
Key stats and research
Census 2023 - 2.6% of rainbow people were experiencing severe housing deprivation (2.1% for others).
Counting Ourselves - 19% of trans and non-binary people had experienced homelessness at some point. This was higher for non-Europeans (25%).
Honour Project Aotearoa - almost 20% of Takatāpui and Māori LGBTQI+ adult respondents described themselves as currently homeless.
Ira Mata, Ira Tangata: Auckland’s Homeless Count - people living without shelter in 2018 were twice as likely to be rainbow than the general population.
Youth’19 - rainbow secondary school students were significantly more likely to report housing deprivation (38%) than their non-rainbow peers (28%).
Household Economic Survey (2020) - LGBT+ people were more likely to rent, and more likely to live in dwellings that had problems with damp, mould, or warmth.
A survey of 334 Takatāpui and LGBTIQ+ youth - 31% had experienced at least one form of homelessness in their lives.
Why would rainbow people be more likely to experience homelessness? There isn’t one single cause, but a range of complex factors:
Thinking about the whole population, widespread discrimination (including in housing, education, welfare and employment) contributes to economic instability and lower incomes, making it harder to afford housing or choose the best options.
Discrimination also contributes to higher rates of mental distress, substance use and other health impacts that can make it harder to find and maintain stable housing.
As a population, rainbow people are more likely to face conflict, rejection and violence from family, which in turn reduces access to intergenerational housing support within birth whānau. For some, this can look like being kicked out of home, or running away from an abusive or unsafe home environment.
Rainbow people are also more likely to be renting, and more likely to face discrimination in the rental market (for example, being denied a rental property because of being trans), which makes it harder for rainbow people to secure or keep a place to stay.
This interview with RY support workers talks about why it’s harder for rainbow young people to find safe housing.
More local experiences of rainbow homelessness
![Quote - “No one ever chooses to be homeless, that’s a lie... I could’ve died, [being homeless] almost killed me. Homelessness kills us people.” Ngaire, trans woman, 50s Vandenburg, 2022](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/608b5bc655f6d26840c9b778/07977f9d-88c0-4eae-9ac0-a2aac6264f16/Screenshot+2026-04-08+211128.png)
Our knowledge brief, An Introduction to Rainbow Homelessness, offers a simple snapshot into what we know about rainbow homelessness and the role of housing and homelessness service organisations.
The impacts of living homeless are severe. Compared to the general population, homeless people have much higher rates of premature death, and experience higher rates of physical injury, mental illness, substance misuse, suicide, and chronic health conditions. These and the following points are referenced in our knowledge brief.
For rainbow homeless people, common experiences include violence, victimisation, exploitation, ill health, and other harms:
higher rates of using substances (i.e., drugs and alcohol), which may be a coping mechanism for things they experience while homeless and/or accessing support services.
sex work and survival sex - trading sex for food, a place to sleep, or other basic needs - which can put people at greater risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and experiencing ill health.
more likely to experience sexual abuse while homeless, compared to non-rainbow homeless people.
rainbow people experiencing homelessness may not seek medical care until their symptoms are quite advanced. Delays in receiving care can cause illnesses to become more complicated to treat and damaging in the long term.
high rates of depression, self-harm, suicidal behaviours and suicidal thoughts.