fair housing: prohibited acts and enforcement. chapter 16 part.3

licensees should refuse to do business with anyone who is

unwilling to comply with the fair housing act.

fair housing act violation: refusing to rent or sell residential property after receiving a good faith offer, example of that is,

a homeowner decides not to accept an offer after learning that the buyer is of another religion

fair housing act, violation; refusing to negotiate for the sale or rental of residential property, an example of that is,

a listing broker follows their seller’s instructions not to present offers from people of a different race.

fair housing act, violation; taking any action that would otherwise make residential property unavailable or deny it to any person, an example of that is,

a minority couple tells a licensee what they’re looking for in a home, six listings in the MLS match their criteria, but the licensee only tells them about the three in neighborhoods with a high population of minorities.

fair housing act, violation; discriminating in the terms or conditions of any sale or rental of residential property or in providing any services or facilities in connection with such property, an exmaple;

a property manager requires only men and minority applicants to pay for criminal background checks as part of the application process

fair housing act, violation; using discriminatory advertising or any other notice that indicates a limitation or preference or intent to make any limitation, perference, or dicrimination, an example is;

a property manager includes the phrase ‘‘no children’’ in an advertisement for an apartment that is not a qualified seniors only building.

fair housing act violation; denying access to a multiple listing service or any similar real estate brokers organization or discriminating in terms or conditions for access to the orginization, an exmaple of that is;

a local brokers organization limits membership to suburban brokerages for the purpose of keeping minority inner city brokerages out.

fair housing act violation; making any representation that property is not available for inspection, sale, or rent when it is in fact available, example of that is;

a property manager tells a potential tenant who has a foreign accent that the apartment is already rented but shows the unit to a man with no accent

fair housing act violation; coercing, intimidating, threatening, interfering with, or retaliating against anyone exercising rights granted by the federal fair housing act or assisting others who exercise fair housing rights, an example of that is;

a property manager threatens to evict a tenant who files a fair housing complaint.

fair housing act violation; discriminating against anyone by a commercial lender in making a loan for buying, building, repairing, improving, or maintaining a dwelling, or in the terms of such financing. an example of that is;

a bank charges a higher interest rate to a creditworthy borrower who wants to buy a house in a minority neighborhood than is charged for an equally creditworthy borrower in a different neighborhood

the fair housing act prohibits

taking any action that would otherwise make residential property unavailable or deny it to any person.

steering is sometimes called

channeling

steering is

directing prospective buyers or renters to or away from specific neighborhoods based on their protected class status to maintain or change the character of a neighborhood.

blockbusting is also called

panic selling or panic peddling

blockbusting is

trying to get sellers to list their properties for sale or rent based on minorities moving into the area.

redlining

discrimination by a lending institution in making loans for buying, building, repairing, improving, or maintaining dwellings based on the racial or ethnic composition of the neighborhood.

home mortgage disclosure act 1975

a federal law that requires large institutional lenders in metropolitan areas to file annual reports on their lending practices for residential mortgage loans.

the home mortgage disclosure act reports help

investigators pinpoint neighborhoods where few or no loans are being made, which can help uncover illegal redlining.

when congress passed the civil rights act in 1968, it gave the ________ the responsibility for administering the fair housing act.

department of housing and urban development

the 1988 amendments to the fair housing act increased the

enforcement role of HUD beyond investigation and conciliation and into mandatory enforcement

one of HUD’s main responsibilities is

fair housing education and enforcement

the fair housing act requires HUD to

develop voluntary programs to achieve fair housing goals

office of fair housing and equal opportunity (FHEO) is a

division of HUD

the office of fair housing and equal opportunity is responsible for

the administration and enforcement of federal fair housing laws.

the FHEO also establishes policies that

ensure equal access to housing for all americans

in 1991 the civil rights division of the u.s department of justice established a

fair housing testing program to objectively compare access and treatment of prospective homebuyers or renters.

the method, fair housing testing program, typically involves

two teams of testers, posing as customers or clients with similar housing needs and similar economic qualifications, but with obvious differences due to inclusion or exclusion from a protected class.

two teams of tester is known as

checkers

testing may be initiated because

HUD or some other fair housing agency receives a specific complaint from an individual who believes they have been unlawfully treated.

testing could be initiated because of an ongoing program of

enforcement when a fair housing agency randomly selects a geographic area to test

real estate licensees and housing providers are also encouraged to

self test for compliance with fair housing laws to recognize any potential issues and make the necessary changes to address them.

any person, entity, community group or housing alliance can

file a complaint through HUD’s office of fair housing and equal opportunity within one year after the alleged discrimination.

if HUD determines it has jurisdiction over the complaint it will

investigate

if an investigation reveals evidence of a violation, the agency first attempts is..

conciliation in an effort to obtain voluntary compliance.

if conciliation is unsecuessful, HUD will

conduct an administrative hearing with an administrative law judge

If a party is found guilty, an ALJ may

award actual damages and attorneys fees, impose a civil fine or issue an injunction requiring the defendant to refrain from certain activity.

the party may also send their findings to the

U.S attorney general

the ALJ may recommend the

suspension or revocation of an individual’s license through the licensing body of the state that issued their license

an individual has _______ from the alleged discriminatory incident to file a civil lawsuit in federal district court.

two years

if the court determines that there was a violation, it could issue an

injunction or award actual and punitive damages with no limits.

the u.s attorney general, head of the department of justice may also bring a

civil suit in federal district court against anyone engaged in an ongoing pattern or practice of discriminatory activites

the DOJ may also bring criminal charges against anyone who uses

force or threats of force to deny or interfere with fair housing rights

all complaints under the _______ must be taken to federal court

civil rights act of 1866

who can sue for discriminatory actions ?

prospective buyer, tenant, tester, checker, HUD, U.S attorney general, fair housing organization

who can be held liable for unlawful discrimination?

seller, landlord, property manager, rental agent, real estate broker, affiliated licensees, multiple listing service, lender, loan originator, insurance provider, homeowners association.

exclusionary zoning laws are

laws that have the effect of denying housing to minorities or other protected classes

the exclusionary zoning laws clause

‘‘ make otherwise unavailable or deny ‘‘ in antidiscrimination legislation has been interpreted to prohibit exclusionary zoning.

exclusionary zoning is unlikely that a municipality would enact an….

openly discriminatory ordinance

one thing that an exclusionary zoning may be evaluated is when considering a….

civil rights complaint that involves the concept of disparate intent versus disparate impact.

disparate intent is a

calculated decision to treat some people differently from others in a similar situation.

disparate impact

occurs when a law or policy appears to be neutral on its face but has a disproportionately adverse impact on a protected group.