Unit: 5 Fair Housing Laws

Federal, State, and Local Fair Housing Laws

Equal Opportunity Housing

  • The federal regulations regarding equal opportunity in housing are contained in 2 laws

    • The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits all racial discrimination

    • The federal fair housing act (Title VIII og the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended)

Complaints under the federal fair housing act may be reported to and investigated by HUD (Housing Urban Development federal level) or the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division

Housing Discrimination

  • Discrimination of persons with disabilities is one of the largest sources of housing discrimination complaints

  • A modification is a structural change made to allow persons with disabilities the full enjoyment of the housing/facilities

  • To meet fair housing specifications for multifamilty units,

    • public use and common areas mist be accessible to disabled persons;

    • units designated as accessible must have an accessible route to and from the unit;

    • they must have adaptive features

    

Housing Credit Discrimination

Laws regarding fair credit

  1. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, and the Community Reinvestment Act contribute to fair availability of credit.

All lenders are defined the same under each act.

  • Prohibitions

    • Steering— channeling potential buyers to or away from particular areas as a means of discrimination

    • Blockbusting-- also called panic selling

    • Redlining— refusing to offer or limiting loans in certain areas because of crime rates or the ethnic background of its residents

Texas Fair Housing Laws

Texas Fair Housing Act

  • Equivalent to the federal law, complaints are heard

    • by the Texas  Workforce Civil Rights Division or

    • in state district courts.

Complaints under the Civil Rights Act of 1866 must be taken to a federal court

    An aggrieved person may file a complaint within one year.

  • It filed with HUD, it will be referred to the TWCCRD fair housing program.

  • This allows complaints to be heard at the state level

  • Texas Workforce Civil Rights Division (TWCCRD) has 100 days to

    • Investigate the complaint,

    • begin a process of conciliation (attempting to obtain an agreement ending the dispute), and file a report of its findings

  • If not conciliation is reached during the 100-day period, the complaint is dismissed or charges are filed.

  • If charges are filed, the aggrieved party has 20 days to take it to a state district court for a jury trial.

    • If the aggrieved party does not choose to go to court, the case is assigned to an administrative law judge ( ALJ).

The ALJ can make reccomendations to the TWCCRD for resolution.

The ALJ had the authority to award actual damages and to impose monetary penalites

    • The penalities range from

    • up to 10,000 for the the first offense,

    • $25,000 for the second violation within five years, and 

    • $50,000 for further violations within 7 years

Community Reinvestment Act

Law regarding lending practices 

  • Passed in 1977 by Congress

  • Requires that lenders serve their local communities first

  • Required to post a Community Reinvestment Act Notice in a public place

  • Lenders must prepare an annual statement to include the following:

    • A definition of the geographical boundaries of its community

    • Comments from the public about the institution’s performance in the community

  • An indentifcation of the types of loans made available

    • Housing rehab loans

    • Small business loans

    • Commercial loans

    • Consumer loans

  • Licenses holders are required to keep current with the updated regulations.

    • For example, at least three class hours regarding the federal, state, and local laws relating to housing discrimination, housing credit discrimination and community reinvestment