Protecting Your Rights What You Need To Know About Fair Housing Laws 2012

 The 1968 Fair Housing Act made it illegal to discriminate against people in most types of housing transactions because of their race, color, religion, or national origin.. What is Fami

Protecting Your

Rights: What You

Need to Know about Fair Housing Laws

SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

The South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center is dedicated to advocacy for low-income people in South Carolina to effect systemic change by acting in and through the courts, legislature, administrative

agencies, community and the media, and

helping others do the same through

education, training and co-counseling To

find out more about SCALJC, go to

http://www.scjustice.org on the Internet

 The goal of this presentation is to teach you general information about your rights under Fair Housing laws.

 Because of time constraints, only the major points of the laws will be addressed.

 At the end of this presentation, you should have a better understanding about the laws that protect you from housing discrimination and what to do if you think your rights have been violated.

 This overview of Fair Housing law is

for informational purposes only It is not meant to address a specific legal

What Is the Fair Housing

Act?

 The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) was

made a law by Congress on April 11, 1968

 It was part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968

 After the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, President Lyndon B Johnson urged Congress to pass the law In the years before King’s death, the law had been considered but did not

have enough support to pass

What Is the Fair Housing

Act?

 The 1968 Fair Housing Act made it illegal to discriminate against people in most types

of housing transactions because of their

race, color, religion, or national origin

 In 1974, gender was added to the list.

 In 1988, disability and familial status were

added to the list (in the Fair Housing

Amendments Act)

What groups of people does the Fair Housing Act protect

What is National Origin?

 National origin means where someone

was born, or where their parents,

grandparents, etc were born

 It may be hard to tell where a person was born, but there may be signs of his or her national origin, like an accent, that can

lead to discrimination The FHA makes it illegal to discriminate in housing for that reason

What groups of people does the Fair Housing Act protect

What is Familial Status?

 In general, familial status means whether or

not there is a child under 18 in the household.

 It can also mean whether someone is

pregnant, or getting legal custody or already has legal custody of one or more children

under 18.

 Example: It would be illegal under the FHA to refuse

to rent to someone just because he has legal

custody of his grandchild who is 16.

What is Familial Status?

 The FHA makes it illegal for most housing

providers to refuse to rent or sell housing to people because of their familial status.

Exception: Some housing is set aside by the government as “Housing for Older Persons”

or “Senior Housing” Special rules have to

be met for housing to use this exception to

the FHA.

What groups of people does the Fair Housing Act protect

What counts as a disability

under the FHA?

 Under the FHA, a disability is a physical or mental problem that largely limits one or more of a person’s major life activities

 Having a record of such a problem or being regarded as having such a problem is also

in the definition

 If a person has a record of having a

disability in the past, that past disability

cannot be used against them to keep them out of housing

What counts as a disability

under the FHA?

Some examples of disabilities under the

FHA are having a mental illness, a learning

disability, past drug addiction, alcoholism,

having a disease like HIV or AIDS, blindness,

or having a hearing problem

The current use of illegal drugs is not covered under the FHA

What counts as a disability

under the FHA?

 Landlords can refuse to rent to people who have been convicted in court of selling or making drugs

 Landlords can also refuse to rent to a

person who is a direct threat to someone’s health or safety, or to someone who would substantially damage the landlord’s

property or the property of others

 In order to prove this in court, the landlord has

to have recent evidence to back up this claim.

What types of actions are

illegal under the FHA?

We have learned that the FHA makes it illegal to discriminate in housing

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status:

 Refuse to rent or sell housing

 Refuse to negotiate on housing

 Deny someone a unit

 Example: Putting all people of one race in one part of a building

 Make different rules for renting or selling housing

 Example: Making a man pay a smaller rental deposit than a

woman

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the

following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status:

(continued)

 Give different housing services or facilities

 Example : Having pools for one race only

 Claim that housing is not for rent or sale when it actually is

 This includes not allowing inspection of the unit

 Convince someone else, for profit, not to sell or rent a unit

 Deny someone membership in a facility or service that comes with the house

 Example: Refusing to list a unit in a multiple listing service

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status:

(continued)

 Refuse to make a mortgage loan

 Example: Making loans to one race only

 Refuse to give information on loans

 Example: Refusing to give loan information to someone with an accent

 Make different rules about a loan

 Example: Different interest rates or fees for one race over

another

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color,

religion,

national origin gender, disability, or familial

status:

(continued)

 Discriminate in appraising the value of property

 Refuse to purchase a loan

 Set different rules for purchasing a loan

It is also illegal under the FHA

to:

 Threaten or try to force or scare

someone who is protecting his or her

rights under the Fair Housing Act

 Make a statement or place an ad (in

writing or by phone) that lists a

preference for a renter or buyer of

property based on their race, color,

religion, national origin, gender,

disability, or familial status

Examples of Discriminatory

Advertisement

Ads that use certain words to limit the

type of renter/buyer the person is looking for, such as:

 Using the words “No Men” or “Christians

only” in an ad to rent an apartment

 Using the words “No immigrants” or “Couples only” in an ad to sell a house

Examples of Discriminatory

Advertisement

Ads that would keep certain people or

groups of people from renting or buying

housing in an area, such as:

 Using the words “Mostly Asian neighborhood”

or “quiet, childless neighborhood” in an ad to sell a home

 Using the words “nearly all Christian families”

Does the FHA apply to all types of

housing?

 The FHA covers most types of housing

 Under the FHA, housing can be places that

are rented or places that are bought.

 This means that apartments, condos, houses,

and mobiles homes can all be covered by the FHA.

What Housing Is NOT Covered

by the FHA?

There are some types of housing that are not covered by some parts of the FHA:

 Buildings with no more than four units where the

owner lives in one of the units

 Single-family homes that are sold or rented without a broker or agent

sold a house in the last 24 months, and does not use

discriminatory advertising

 Housing run by private clubs where only club members live or by religious organizations in some

What Housing Is NOT Covered

What if I am disabled? Does the

FHA give me other rights?

 Yes Under the FHA, if you or someone in your

household is disabled, your landlord must let you make reasonable modifications to your unit or

common areas if you need these to use the

What are reasonable

modifications?

 They are necessary physical changes to the

housing or common areas to help a disabled

person use the housing

 Some examples of reasonable modifications are:

 Having a doorway widened to fit a wheelchair

 Having a ramp added to a unit for a wheelchair

 Having “grab bars” added to a bath tub

* There are special rules for some newer buildings

where these changes must already be made.

What if I am disabled? Does the

FHA give me other rights?

 If you or someone in your household is

disabled, you also have the right to have

reasonable accommodations made if it will help you to use the housing

 The cost of the reasonable accommodation is not

paid for by the disabled person.

 A reasonable accommodation must be necessary to help the disabled person using the housing.

What are reasonable accommodations?

changes to a landlord’s rules or policies to help a disabled person use the housing

Does South Carolina have a

Fair Housing Law?

Commission is the agency that

oversees the SC Fair Housing Law (for non-federally funded properties)

What can I do if I think my Fair

Housing rights have been

violated?

your rights if you think you have been discriminated against in housing You can take advantage of both of these

options to better protect your rights.

Filing a Complaint

 If you think you have been discriminated against in housing in violation of the

federal FHA (i.e., regarding

federally-funded property), you can file a complaint with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

 HUD has a complaint form that you fill out,

or you can write your own letter to HUD.

Filing a Complaint

 If you write your own letter to HUD, be

sure to list

 Your name and address

 The name and address of the person you are complaining about

 The address of the housing that you were

denied or removed from

 An explanation of what happened (including how you feel you were discriminated against)

 The date(s) that the action occurred

Filing a Complaint

nearest you where you can send your

complaint is:

Atlanta Regional Office of FHEO

U.S Department of Housing and Urban

Development

Five Points Plaza

40 Marietta Street, 16th floor

Atlanta, Georgia 30303-2806

1-800-669-9777 or 1-800-440-8091

Filing a Complaint

 Your complaint to HUD must be made

within one year from the date that the

discriminatory action happened

 It is important that you keep records of any negative action taken against you, including the dates

 It is important that you file your complaint on time or else you may lose some protections

Filing a Complaint

 Because SC has its own state fair housing law, there is also a state agency that takes complaints on housing discrimination for

properties that are not federally-funded

 That agency is the South Carolina Human

Filing a Complaint

 The South Carolina Human Affairs

Commission can be reached at:

South Carolina Human Affairs Commission Fair Housing Unit

2611 Forest Drive, Suite 200

P.O Box 4490

Columbia, SC 29204-4490

Toll-free number: 1-800-521-0725

violated your rights.

agency, a Fair Housing Case might be filed in

federal court (FHA) or state court (South Carolina Fair Housing law)

Filing a Lawsuit

 Federal FHA

 The federal FHA gives you two years to file a lawsuit against the person who discriminated against you The two years starts from the date that the

discriminatory action happened.

 South Carolina Fair Housing Law

 The state FHA gives you one year to file a lawsuit

against the person who discriminated against you The year starts from the date that the discriminatory action happened.

Filing a Lawsuit

In some cases, making an agreement during the complaint process may limit your ability to file a lawsuit In other cases, the complaint process

may be ended once you file a lawsuit If you have

a fair housing problem and think you may want

to file a complaint or file a lawsuit on it, you

should contact a lawyer as soon as you can to

determine

what course of action is best for your case

Other Federal Laws Available

to Prevent Housing

Discrimination

 The Civil Rights Act of 1866

 Executive Orders 11063 / 12892

 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

 Equal Credit Opportunity Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1866

 This was the first civil rights

legislation passed by Congress

 It was an attempt to enforce the 13th

amendment, which outlawed slavery

The Civil Rights Act of 1866

 Prohibits all racial discrimination, private

and public, in the sale or rental of property

 Applies to state and federal entities, as well

as private individuals

 Could apply in situations where the Fair

Housing Act does not because provides no exemptions

Executive Order 11063 – Equal

Opportunity in Housing

November 21, 1962

basis of race, color, religion, and

national origin relating to property

where the federal government is

involved

 Involvement includes being owned,

operated, or financed in whole or part by the federal government

Executive Order 11063 – Equal

Opportunity in Housing

gender-based discrimination, discrimination

against families with children, and

discrimination against people with

disabilities

12892, which strengthens the federal

government’s commitment to protecting

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act

of 1964

 Outlaws discrimination based on

race, color, and national origin in any program or activity that receives

federal financial assistance

 Applies primarily to public housing

Equal Credit Opportunity

Act

 Prohibits creditors, like banks, from discriminating against applicants on the basis of race, color, religion,

national origin, sex, marital status, age, or source of income

 Applies to all aspects of a credit

transaction

Additional Federal Laws

Housing and Community Development

Act of 1974

 Prohibits discrimination in federally-assisted community development activities

Additional Federal Laws

Section 504 and Title II of the Americans

with

Disabilities Act

for persons who are disabled

subsidized housing

subsidized by state or local agencies

If You Need Legal Help:

 South Carolina Legal Services

 Call LATIS at 1-888-346-5592

 SC Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service

 Call 1-800-868-2284