Articles Tagged With: Fair Housing Act

May 3, 2021

HUD Announces Housing Discrimination Charges Against Redwood, California Mortgage Modification Company

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges against a Redwood, California-based company called The House Lawyer (THL). HUD announced the charge against owners and employers of The House Lawyer in a press release on the HUD official site on April 30, 2021. HUD alleges The House Lawyer violated Fair Housing Act laws, “by targeting Hispanic homeowners with illegal and unfair mortgage modification services”. Among the issues in this Fair Housing Act case, HUD charges the company with collecting fees from Hispanic borrowers “for loan modification services prior to the completion of those services, in violation of California law, while encouraging them to withhold their mortgage payments, putting them at risk of foreclosure”. Fair Housing Act law forbids discrimination against people because of their national origin. That federal | more...

April 29, 2021

Fair Housing Month Ends With New Discrimination Cases

By Bruce Reichstein

Fair Housing Act laws ensure all Americans have recourse if they are illegally discriminated in the housing process. The month of April is Fair Housing Month, commemorating the passage of the Fair Housing Act and drawing attention to the ongoing need for federal enforcement of laws designed to prevent discrimination in the housing process. The 2021 Fair Housing Month observation began with a campaign–the Real People Real Results campaign–which celebrates “…the heroism of those who took a stand against housing discrimination and acknowledges the staff and fair housing partners work to prevent discriminatory harassment”. This campaign recognizes an important issue. Sometimes the only people with the power to stop future violations of the Fair Housing Act are those who were victims of discrimination. In the last days of April 2021, | more...

April 22, 2021

HUD Brings Fair Housing Act Charges Against Texas Landlord

By Joe Wallace

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against those seeking housing, whether that is purchase or rental. It is also against the law to discriminate at any stage in the housing process including at the lending stage. We report on Fair Housing Act cases because they affect all who seek housing. Whether you want to rent or buy, read to purchase or still looking, discrimination hurts everyone at all stages of the house-hunting process. Among the latest Fair Housing cases in 2021, a new development as the Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges in a housing discrimination case in Texas. A press release issued this week on the HUD official site announces that HUD is charging an owner of a six-bedroom rental home in Frisco, | more...

April 6, 2021

Fair Housing Month 2021

By Joe Wallace

April is Fair Housing Month, and the 2021 Fair Housing Month campaign organized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development has a theme; Fair Housing: More Than Just Words. It’s meant to call attention to Fair Housing law in America, the rights of all house hunters and potential renters, and why discrimination in the housing industry is still a serious issue. This year’s theme is meant as a commitment “to advancing equity in housing and the importance of increasing public awareness of everyone’s right to fair housing” according to a press release issued by HUD official site. All Americans have the right to equal access to affordable and safe housing. HUD Secretary Martha Fudge says even in a time when there is greater attention on Fair Housing type issues, | more...

March 26, 2021

HUD Announces Settlement In California Housing Discrimination Case Involving G Davi Properties

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced an agreement in a Fair Housing Act discrimination case. A conciliation agreement between a California resident and rental property owners/managers G Davi Properties and Guido A. Davi II. This agreement addresses housing discrimination claims made by the resident that the housing providers denied the resident’s request for reasonable accommodate related to the use of an assistance animal. Assistance Animals Are Permitted Under The Fair Housing Act It is a violation of the Fair Housing Act for housing providers to deny such accommodations when deemed necessary to “use or enjoy” housing. A press release issued by HUD elaborates on this, stating: “The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing providers from discriminating against people with disabilities, including refusing to make reasonable accommodations in policies | more...

March 19, 2021

HUD Announces Settlement In Wells Fargo Housing Discrimination Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing And Urban Development has announced a settlement in a housing discrimination case involving Wells Fargo. According to a press release on the HUD official site, Wells Fargo allegedly denied a mortgage loan intended to be used on a group home for persons with disabilities. While this specific case doesn’t seem relevant in the context of an individual applying for a home loan, any form of discrimination in the housing process weakens that process for all borrowers. The HUD official site reports that HUD has approved what is called a Conciliation Agreement between Wells Fargo Bank and a customer named in the complaint. The agreement resolves that customer’s claim that Wells Fargo denied a loan application after learning the loan was intended for the group home for | more...

March 9, 2021

JP Morgan Chase Settles Housing Discrimination Complaint

By Bruce Reichstein

A press release issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development announces a Conciliation Agreement between JPMorgan Chase Bank and a homeowner who alleged her appraisal was undervalued due to racial discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Discrimination in the housing industry creates a hostile environment for all house hunters and future home owners. It becomes very difficult to find affordable housing when you have potential landlords and mortgage industry professionals trying to decide whether or not your non-financial “qualifications” are good enough for them to accept your business. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against those who seek homes to rent or buy–turning away someone who needs housing for non-financial reasons. Fair Housing regulations also make it a crime to discriminate against any | more...

February 10, 2021

HUD Brings Fair Housing Charges In Missouri

By Bruce Reichstein

Have you ever been the victim of housing discrimination? In spite of the federal laws designed to stop it, cases still occur in America. And sometimes only the victim of the discrimination has the power to stop to perpetrator from future abuses. If you don’t report the illegal activity, it can happen to someone else. Housing discrimination creates terrible conditions for anyone who wants to buy a new home. And this discrimination’s negative effects don’t stay neatly contained to the sector where the abuses occur, either. Housing discrimination in the rental sector can negatively affect a house hunter’s ability to find housing at a reasonable price. It is sometimes necessary to rent a home while looking for a home to purchase. The damage housing discrimination does at the rental stage | more...

August 25, 2020

HUD Approves Conciliation Agreements in Arkansas Fair Housing Discrimination Case

By Joe Wallace

Housing discrimination at any stage–buying, renting, financing, etc.–is a violation of federal law. The Fair Housing Act protects borrowers from being denied housing based on non-financial criteria including race, family status, sexual identity, etc. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced agreements in an Arkansas Fair Housing discrimination case. According to a press release issued by HUD, the agency has approved three Conciliation Agreements with the owners and property management company of Springdale Ridge Apartments in Springdale, Arkansas. HUD says these three agreements resolve complaints that the owners and management of Springdale Ridge Apartments “discriminated against several residents because of their national origin and retaliated against an employee living on site who sought to inform the residents of their fair housing rights” according to the HUD press release. | more...

July 21, 2020

HUD Announces Agreement In California Fair Housing Act Case

By Bruce Reichstein

The federal law known as the Fair Housing Act protects consumers at all levels of the housing process. Buyers, renters, house hunters, all are protected against illegal discrimination thanks to the provisions of the Fair Housing Act that require only financial qualifications to be used when approving housing, providing accessibility for disabled tenants, etc. But sometimes there are violations of these laws and when those violations are brought to the attention of the authorities, an investigation may lead to changes in the way housing issues are handled by a particular agency, landlord, etc. The latest of these actions includes a Department of Housing and Urban Development’s announcement of an agreement in a Fair Housing Act case in Sacramento, California. The Sacramento Housing And Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) was accused of Fair | more...