Articles Tagged With: Fair Housing Laws

December 29, 2021

HUD Announces Settlement In California Fair Housing Case

The FHA and HUD have announced a voluntary settlement agreement in a Fair Housing Act complaint in California. A press release on the HUD official site announces a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreement with National Community Renaissance, National Community Renaissance of California, Desert Meadows Housing Partners, Victorville Housing Partners, and Cathedral Family Housing Partners, management agents, and owners of four HUD-subsidized apartment complexes in Southern California. The agreement is meant to close the book on complaints that the property managers “refused to rent to or provide adequate language services for applicants with limited English proficiency (LEP)” according to the HUD official site. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for housing providers to discriminate because of national origin at any stage in the housing process. Furthermore, the Civil Rights Act contains additional | more...

November 18, 2021

HUD Updates Appraisal Guidelines

By Bruce Reichstein

The FHA and HUD are updating appraisal requirements for residential mortgage loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. In June of 2021, President Joe Biden announced a move to bring appraisals into compliance with Fair Housing Act guidelines–the move was introduced as an effort called the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity or PAVE. The FHA has issued guidelines that reinforce and clarify the “existing requirements for Appraisers and Mortgagees regarding compliance with Fair Housing laws” related to the appraisal of properties that will serve as security for FHA-insured mortgages. What kind of guidelines? A Mortgagee Letter published at HUD.gov states that the federal agency “expects all parties engaged in FHA mortgage insurance programs to eliminate all considerations of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, | more...

November 4, 2021

HUD Announces New Funding To Fight Housing Discrimination

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a round of funding intended to combat housing discrimination related to COVID-19. Fair Housing Act violations are bad enough when things are “normal”, let alone during a global pandemic. A press release at the HUD official site notes the agency is funding more than 50 Fair Housing initiatives to the tune of approximately $13 million. That money comes from the pool set aside for the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The press release states the money funds a “range of fair housing enforcement and education and outreach activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic” including work to fight discrimination in communities determined to be “underserved” by such efforts. “Discriminatory policies have no place in a nation struggling to deal with the lingering effects | more...

October 18, 2021

HUD Announces Settlement In Alabama Fair Housing Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced an agreement with the owners of the HUD-supported Hollyhand Companies, Inc., and The Village at Meadowview in Fairhope, Alabama. This announcement settles a Fair Housing discrimination case involving a policy barring visitors of a certain age due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The details of this Fair Housing Act complaint involve a resident filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development alleging the tenant could no longer care for her grandchildren in the home because doing so allegedly violated the “no visitors under 12” policy. The HUD official site states that as a result of the resident’s complaint, the agency “…engaged in a compliance review to assess whether the owners had adopted an impermissible age distinction in their | more...

September 20, 2021

HUD Announces Fair Housing Discrimination Case In Missouri

By Joe Wallace

If you have ever experienced discrimination while looking for a place to rent or buy as your primary residence, the Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to hear from you. Know your Fair Housing rights–you might not know when you’ll need to use them. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it is bringing charges of housing discrimination against conservators of the Felder Peter King Estate of Ward Protectee, the Estate, and the owners and property manager of duplex and triplex apartments in St. Charles, Missouri. The charges involve alleged housing discrimination “for allegedly refusing to rent an apartment to a prospective tenant because he has two children” Fair Housing Act laws do not permit landlords to deny applicants housing on the basis of family status including | more...

September 7, 2021

HUD Charges Florida Condo Owner’s Association With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Joe Wallace

There are many different forms of housing discrimination and such violations of federal law can happen at any stage of the housing process. That means you can find examples of violations of the Fair Housing Act in many other places besides the rental application process, the home loan application process, or even the refinance loan system. Did you know that housing discrimination cases are also found in areas such as the decisions of homeowner’s associations? That’s an area that doesn’t get discussed much in home loan circles, but violations of the Fair Housing Act have disastrous effects for those who seek housing. One good example of this is found in a September 2021 press release at the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s official site announcing charges against a condo | more...

June 16, 2021

HUD Charges Niagra Falls Landlord With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Bruce Reichstein

Housing discrimination at any stage of the process has negative effects on the entire industry. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to purchase or rent. It doesn’t matter if you are a single borrower, or seek housing on behalf of a family, everyone is entitled to fair access to housing according to federal law. Some Fair Housing rights are better understood than others. Most people understand that it is illegal for a landlord, lender, seller, or housing services provider to discriminate against you for your national origin, religion, race, family status, or other non-financial reasons. But did you know that the same is true for having or needing a service animal? Anyone denied housing for having or needing a service animal has experienced a violation of Fair Housing laws. | more...

June 1, 2021

HUD Announces Resolution To Fair Housing Act Case In California

By Bruce Reichstein

There are plenty of headlines related to violations of the Fair Housing Act. We report on Fair Housing violations partly to remind borrowers to know their rights, but also to encourage anyone who has been the victim of violation of federal Fair Housing laws to report them to HUD. Discrimination in the housing process creates undue burdens on all house hunters. It does not matter what kind of housing you seek, whether or not you are in the house hunting phase or the home loan application phase, etc. Even in cases where the violations occur in relation to rental properties, discrimination hurts the entire industry. In a 2021 Fair Housing discrimination case, HUD has announced a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreement with Cascade Village Apartments II in Sacramento, California. This agreement includes | more...

May 3, 2021

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

By Bruce Reichstein

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...