Articles Tagged With: Fair Housing Act

January 22, 2018

HUD Settles California Fair Housing Case

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a California Fair Housing case. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the agency “has reached a conciliation agreement with the Richmond Housing Authority (RHA) in Richmond, California, settling allegations that it discriminated against a resident with disabilities.” Federal Fair Housing Act regulations prohibit the discrimination in the process of selling or renting a place to live because of the applicant’s disability. Fair Housing laws also forbid refusal to make reasonable accommodations for those disabilities. The settlement is the result of a resident’s complaint, “alleging that the Richmond Housing Authority failed to renew his Housing Choice Voucher before it expired” according to the press release. The complaint states that the resident submitted a request to | more...

December 15, 2017

HUD Announces Settlement In California Fair Housing Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a California Fair Housing Act case. According to a press release on the HUD official site, HUD has entered into an agreement “with the owner and property manager of Shadowbrook Gardens Senior Townhomes in Morgan Hill, California, a city in Santa Clara County, resolving allegations that they discriminated against a resident with disabilities”. A tenant of that property, “requested to have a live-in aide and a key to a locked gate near her unit that would make it easier for her to come and go” according to the HUD press release, which adds that in each case, “the owner and property manager allegedly asked her intrusive questions about her disability, challenged whether she really had a disability, asserted | more...

November 17, 2017

HUD Charges Kansas Property Owners With Fair Housing Violations

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is charging a Kansas landlord with Fair Housing Act violations after allegations of sexual harassment. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the agency “announced today it is charging the owner and landlord of several rental properties in Wichita, Kansas, and his wife, who co-owned one of the properties, with housing discrimination after the landlord allegedly sexually harassed two female tenants at his properties. HUD’s charge further alleges that he also made discriminatory statements based on one of the women’s race”. The Fair Housing Act prohibits a wide range of discriminatory practices in housing including sexual harassment. According to the HUD official site, it is a violation of Fair Housing laws to “discriminate against individuals on the basis of | more...

October 4, 2017

HUD Announces Settlement In Fair Housing Complaints Against The State Of Maryland

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Fair Housing case involving complaints against the State of Maryland. According to HUDNo.17-088, the agency has “…announced an agreement to resolve a discrimination complaint brought by fair housing advocates against Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) challenging the fairness of the State’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.” Under the terms of the agreement, new or modified policies, incentives, and “more flexible program rules” will be enacted to “streamline the creation of affordable housing in higher opportunity neighborhoods in the Baltimore region”. The origin of the case involved a complaint filed with HUD in 2011. The Baltimore Regional Housing Campaign (BRHC) reported to HUD that the state of Maryland, “maintained a policy requiring local jurisdictions to | more...

June 1, 2017

HUD Announces Settlement In California Fair Housing Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a California Fair Housing Act discrimination case. According to the FHA/HUD official site, HUD “reached an agreement with the owner and manager of a California apartment complex, resolving allegations they discriminated against tenants because of their national origin and familial status. Two related complaints filed with HUD alleged that the manager of the Four Palms Apartments in Mountain View, California, made discriminatory statements about Latino residents and prohibited their children from playing outside”. Such discrimination is not permitted under federal Fair Housing Act laws. “A family’s right to enjoy their home shouldn’t depend on where they are from or whether they have children,” said Bryan Greene, HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, who | more...

April 28, 2017

Fair Housing Month And HUD

By Joe Wallace

Fair Housing Month ends this weekend. This month-long campaign to raise awareness of Fair Housing laws is an important one, which includes measures taken by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help house hunters and apartment seekers alike to get fair consideration when applying to find or buy a home. Those measures in 2017 include a trying to raise awareness of certain persistent types of discrimination. According to the HUD official site, one version is particularly troublesome. “Every type of discrimination robs individuals and families of their right to choose where to live, but one form of discrimination HUD is particularly active in addressing is discrimination against families with children, known as familial status discrimination.” HUD states that every year, more than ten percent of all Fair Housing | more...

April 20, 2017

HUD Announcement On California Fair Housing Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced an agreement in a fair housing case involving a group of mortgage lenders operating in California. According to a press release on HUD.gov, ” The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced an agreement with a group of California mortgage lenders to resolve allegations they discriminated against a mortgage applicant based on his national origin.” The press release states that allegations of Fair Housing Act violations were brought against “American Financial Network of Brea, California; Benchmark Communities of Fresno; Brigantino Enterprise of Hollister; and an employee of Benchmark Communities failed to prequalify him to purchase a home in Hollister because he is Hispanic”. Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit “discrimination in rental, sales or home lending transactions based on a | more...

April 17, 2017

April Is National Fair Housing Month

By Joe Wallace

National Fair Housing Month is a bit more than half over, but it’s an important time to raise awareness of Fair Housing laws, how they affect mortgage loan applicants, and how such laws affect renters as well as borrowers. Do you know about your Fair Housing Act rights under the law? The FHA/HUD official site reminds its’ readers, “The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting, buying, or securing financing for any housing. The prohibitions specifically cover discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability and the presence of children”. You read that correctly-as a renter, a buyer, or an applicant, your rights include equal consideration regardless of the presence or absence of any of the factors listed above. Fair Housing laws do have | more...

March 20, 2017

Fair Housing Act Settlement With Alpine Bank & Trust

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a settlement in a Fair Housing case involving an Illinois lender. According to a press release at the HUD official site, a recent settlement with Alpine Bank & Trust settles allegations that, “the Northern Illinois-based lender discriminated against African American and Hispanic mortgage applicants.” According to the press release, HOPE Fair Housing Center located in Wheaton, Illinois, “filed a complaint with HUD claiming the lender’s business service areas excluded majority African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods”. Fair Housing Act regulations make it illegal for any person or company to discriminate against applicants for non-financial reasons such as race, religion, national origin, family status, gender identity, etc. According to the HUD official site, “HOPE Fair Housing Center alleged the bank’s lack of a | more...

February 8, 2017

HUD Charges Oklahoma Landlords With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Joe Wallace

Fair Housing Act laws help protect house hunters no matter what phase of the process they might be at, and it also offers protections for those seeking rental housing. Violations of Fair Housing laws can hinder those hoping to buy with FHA loans, conventional loans or other mortgages at some point, even if they aren’t actively looking to purchase at the moment. That’s why we report on Fair Housing cases from time to time-current and future loan applicants should know their rights and what to do if they encounter unfair treatment along the way. HUD recently announced on its official site that it is bringing charges against Oklahoma landlords for violations of Fair housing law. According to a press release on the HUD site that, “…it is charging the landlords | more...