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Change Your World Week Winter 2023 (Archived)

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The Not-So-Fair Housing Problem

The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. 

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of:

  • Race
  • Color
  • National Origin
  • Religion
  • Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
  • Familial Status
  • Disability

What is Housing Discrimination?

Housing discrimination is when a rental manager either at an apartment or for a home you are renting from a landlord happens to charge the tenant which is the person who is moving into the place that charges a security deposit and or the rent is higher than another minority of color than you.

Records reported that since the years of 2016 to present the problems about housing discrimination have been on an all-time rise, from college students being either kicked out or bribed to move out of dorm rooms and pushed to find outside living arrangements, to refusing to house people who are diagnosed with mental disabilities to be housed into their houses on the market to be rented out, to section 8 applicants having a hard time in the amount of time which is given to search for a place either an apartment or even a house, running into the same problems they can't find any place that will take their voucher due to either past tenants who made it bad for present tenants of the homeowner just not wanting to rent to section 8 applicants at all.

Reading different stories about three separate incidents about how they were treated for housing discrimination, one family for income discrimination due to her family's house being lost due to a housefire, and the mother looking for places to stay and was getting denied for everyone she applied for even with perfect credit, perfect housing history and even was issued a section 8 voucher. The next person was trying to rent out an apartment.

The things which are unlawful to do to people no matter what their race, gender they may go by, disabled, age, religion, partnership and or marital status may be should never be refused to be able to rent, or lease an apartment or house, and should be given the same opportunity as anyone else. Never should anyone be subject to having to pay a different amount for rent, leasing, or for a security deposit for a place to stay. Never should a tenant have to go thru any problems trying to get repairs for appliances while living in a rented home or apartment unless agreed upon upfront due to a purchase of the property. Never should anyone be denied renting or leasing a home due to their source of income such as government assistance of any type.

 

 

Eviction Discrimination

Since the whole world was put on lock down due to being hit with a deadly infection we ended up naming Covid- 19, shutting down stores, people getting sick some dying, hospitals being full to captivity, a lot of people lost their jobs or couldn't go back to work meaning that most lost their jobs due to being sick with Covid-19. Large populations in big cities such as Houston TX, Phoenix AZ, Dallas TX, to name a few had high numbers of eviction on a weekly basics with numbers so high in the weeks of June 20 thru August 22 of 2021 with the higher numbers in Phoenix of over 700 and Houston with the numbers of over 600,and in  August 29 thru October 31 of 2021, being higher in the city of Houston numbers being over1,000 wand  Phoenix trailing not far behind with numbers a bit over 1,000.  

With discrimination on latinos and of black families being the main target out of the 5 largest cities of the United states with the highest rates of being evicted, along with disabled tenants, undocumented people without green cards, the low income renters in the year of 2020 at risk of losing their homes just because of being labeled. Months from April of 2020 to December of 2020 shows how each and every month the numbers of labeled people in which lived in the United States in 2020 who was put at risk gets higher each and every month.

How can we put a stop to housing discrimination ?

When searching for a new home there are some "red flags" statements to listen for. If an agent or landlord uses phrases like "This is a really good fit," "I don't feel like you would be at home in this neighborhood," "I don't feel this would be a good fit for you," or " I feel you would be happier in this other neighborhood," that could mean that they are trying to push you in or away from their property. 

If that should happen and you feel you are being discriminated against, the Fair Housing Justice Center or the department similar to that in your area is who you would want to contact. They can send out testers of different races to test for disparate treatment. 

It is also smart to research the landlord or real estate agent before you meet with them, as well as the bank's posted rates to make sure all is fair. It is not only the agents that can discriminate, it can be banks or other mortgage lenders also.

Investopia lists these steps to get help if you feel you are being discriminated against:

  • Get State and/or Local Help
  • File a Federal Complaint
  • FIle a Mortgage Lending Complaint

Even if you are not someone who has experienced discrimination with housing but still want to help. You can! There are ways to become a Fair Housing Tester. There are non profit organizations that will send out testers to prove if someone is being discriminatory. 

What different steps can a victim take to bring a landlord down?

More information ------- If you feel that you are or have been discriminated, or have any questions about file an complaint by either calling

                                         -MDCR at 800-482-3604         -HUD at 800-669-9777

Also online at MDCR-INFO@michigan.gov, or www.hud.gov

 

https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/DOC_12150.PDF

References

20 million renters are at risk of eviction ... - The Aspen Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/20-million-renters-are-at-risk-of-eviction/

Buchholz, K., & Richter, F. (2021, November 23). Infographic: Evictions in the U.S. rise after moratorium ends. Statista Infographics. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/chart/26247/evictions-in-selected-us-cities/

Housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_act_overview#_The_Fair_Housing

McQueen, M. P. (2022, July 8). Housing discrimination: What is it, and what can you do about it? Investopedia. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/housing-discrimination-what-can-you-do-5074478

National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2023, March 16). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://nlihc.org/

Report housing discrimination - united states department of housing and ... (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/DOC_12150.PDF

Suburban policy in City Life: The Far reaching consequences of housing discrimination. Washington University Political Review Suburban Policy in City Life The Far Reaching Consequences of Housing Discrimination Comments. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.wupr.org/2014/04/13/suburban-policy-in-city-life-the-far-reaching-consequences-of-housing-discrimination/

Tenant rights, laws and protections: Michigan. HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.hud.gov/states/michigan/renting/tenantrights

Thomas, K. E. (2017, April 20). This is what housing discrimination in the U.S. looks like. Next City. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/housing-discrimination-us-report

Wilder, I. (2022). 20 Ways to Fight Housing Discrimination. Touro Law Review38(2), 655–681.