Making Fair Housing a Reality

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 and its subsequent amendments assure equal housing opportunities by prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. Despite this protection, discrimination persists, as evinced by the 40,288 fair housing complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its partners from 2005–2008. The nature of these complaints and milestones in the law's enforcement both point to two persistent types of housing discrimination: disability and race.

Disability Discrimination

Although disabled persons were not protected under the original Act, the Fair Housing Amendments Act signed into law in 1988 prohibits discrimination against them. While this legislation requires that disabled individuals be given the same housing opportunities as nondisabled people and have access to accommodations that enable them to live more independently, the majority (42%) of the complaints from 2005 through 2008 charged that disability discrimination interfered with a housing opportunity. Examples of such complaints include failure to accommodate needs (such as allowing residents to keep a service animal) and failing to make homes accessible to people with disabilities. One complainant, a man who relies on forearm crutches for movement, was repeatedly denied an accessible parking space at his private apartment complex and, as a result, fell numerous times in the parking lot and had difficulty entering the building. HUD's investigation found the manager and building owner to be in violation of the Fair Housing Act because they failed to meet the tenant's need for an accessible parking space. Without admitting guilt, the building owner and manager agreed to pay the man $10,000, give him an accessible parking spot, and adopt a reasonable accommodation policy for the property. The manager further agreed to attend fair housing training.

To educate people about the Fair Housing Act (as amended) and promote compliance, HUD has periodically provided formal documentation and guidance.

• In 1991, HUD released Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines, which recommends a number of housing modifications for disabled people such as accessible entrances, wider door frames (for improved wheelchair and walker access), accessible bathrooms and kitchens, and easily reached light switches and outlets.
• In 1996, HUD published the Fair Housing Act Design Manual. Still in use today, this guide incorporates the 1991 recommendations and provides HUD's interpretation of the Fair Housing Act's requirements, which help developers and builders know what actions will keep them in compliance with the Act.
• In 2002, HUD partnered with the National Association of Home Builders to educate and train housing industry professionals on their obligations under the Fair Housing Act. The partnership also encouraged national trade organizations to tell their members how to make multifamily housing accessible to those with disabilities.

Racial Discrimination

Despite the prohibition against unequal treatment in housing-related transactions, race discrimination persists. Race was the basis for 37 percent of the fair housing complaints lodged from 2005 through 2008. Illegal practices attributed to race include landlords imposing stricter policies on minority renters, charging minorities higher rents, and refusing to rent to minorities. In one instance, a landlady, on discovering that the new tenant was African American, refused to honor the lease and rented the apartment to a white woman for $75 less per month. This action eventually resulted in a race discrimination lawsuit. The parties settled, and the landlady agreed to pay compensatory damages, attend fair housing training, post a nondiscrimination policy, and refrain from involvement in the resident selection process and direct management of her properties for one year.

Over the past 40 years, a number of judicial rulings arising out of similar illegal actions have set precedents regarding practices that limit housing options for minorities because of their race.

• In 1978, a federal district court ruled that the Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits "redlining," which occurs when insurers or lenders will not provide services in certain neighborhoods, or will do so only at higher cost, because of the predominance of a protected status group in that area. Even though redlining is illegal, from 2005 to 2008, HUD and its partners received 38 complaints of lenders and insurers refusing to serve certain areas.
• In 1979, the Supreme Court held that racial steering practices are discriminatory because they have a negative impact on the diversity of local jurisdictions. For example, a real estate agent who limits the homes he or she shows to a white family to predominantly white neighborhoods — even though there are houses in their price range in other parts of the community — negatively affects the area's racial composition and is therefore discriminatory.
• The Supreme Court further emphasized the illegality of racial steering in the early 1980s, when it ruled that people conducting tests to determine whether discrimination exists, as well as fair housing organizations, could file discrimination lawsuits because of such practices.

Although the Fair Housing Act has done much to curb housing discrimination, HUD is committed to further reducing discrimination and advancing housing choices for minorities, as well as to promoting knowledge and understanding of the Fair Housing Act. For more information about fair housing and its challenges, see 39 Steps Toward Fair Housing at www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/39steps.pdf; The State of Fair Housing reports for fiscal years 2007 and 2008 at www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/FairHousing-FY2007AnnualReport.pdf and www.hud.gov/content/releases/fy2008annual-rpt.pdf; the text of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 at www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/title8.php; and the Fair Housing Act Design Manual at www.huduser.gov/publications/destech/fairhousing.html (also available in print for a nominal fee by calling 800.245.2691, option 1).