December 20, 2016
As the FHA/HUD official site says, “Disability is the most common basis of complaint filed with HUD and its partner agencies. Last year alone, HUD considered more than 4,500 disability-related complaints or nearly 55 percent of all fair housing complaints.”
That is one reason why we report Fair Housing cases here-these complaints are not limited to rental markets, and even if they were, such discrimination affects a potential borrower’s house hunting prospects. If you are forced to relocate because of job or family issues and need to purchase a home while renting in the meantime, your entire experience may be affected negatively by housing discrimination.
And sometimes the only way to stop continued illegal practices is for the injured party to file a report and have the matter investigated by HUD.
One of the most recent conclusions to such a case includes a settlement agreement between HUD and a local housing authority. According to the HUD official site, there has been an agreement “involving the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority in Las Vegas to resolve allegations that it violated the Fair Housing Act by denying the mother the reasonable accommodation she requested on behalf of her son with disabilities.”
Fair Housing Act laws make it illegal for housing providers to deny or limit “housing to persons with disabilities, or from refusing to make reasonable accommodations in policies or practices for people with disabilities. In addition, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination” in such cases by any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, according to a press release at HUD.gov.
Landlords have a legal responsibility to approve reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities, said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, who was quoted in the press release. He adds, Agreements like this help housing providers better understand their responsibilities, particularly their obligation to comply with the reasonable accommodation requirements of the Fair Housing Act and Section 504.
The HUD official site says the case was brought to HUD’s attention, “after a mother of a son with disabilities filed a complaint alleging that the housing authority failed to grant her request to be transferred to a three-bedroom unit in order to accommodate medical equipment her son required. The housing authority initially informed the mother that it would grant the accommodation, but failed to do so in a timely manner.”
A cash settlement, and an agreement to provide rent-free housing for more than six years was part of the settlement.
Have you experienced similar discrimination in rental or purchased housing? If you have encountered this or any other type of discrimination related to renting or buying a home you can file a complaint by contacting the HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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