You also be protected under additional laws if you live in federal housing and you believe you have been a victim of discrimination. Just enter your email below and we'll keep you posted when we have new articles. Fair Housing Project P.O. With similar cases pending against private lenders like Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, this recognition has significant meaning. This case was referred to the Division after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination. As part of HUD's Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), FHEO may refer a fair housing complaint to a state or local government agency for investigation. The case was referred to the Department after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination. Landlords often take various factors into consideration when making decisions regarding rental applications, such as requiring certain income minimums (to ensure monthly rent can be paid), good credit, and no criminal background. Cal.). Learn to identify discrimination with lorem ipsum placeholder dummy text copy. Use this comprehensive property management maintenance checklist to get through repairs faster and more efficiently than previously possible. Put your leasing/renting criteria in writing. Media Contact: Lester Davis | 202-415-8653 | ldavis@skdknick.com. vs. Deutsche Bank NFHA et al. On June 25, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, upheld the disparate impact doctrine under the Fair Housing Act. (D. On November 21, 2022, the United States Attorneys Office filed an election complaint in United States v. Hannah, et al. Any website our stories appear on must include a prominent and effective way to contact you. It also prohibits the Village from violating RLUIPA in the future, and requires it to arrange for RLUIPA training of Village Board members and staff, provide notice to the public regarding rights protected by RLUIPA, and comply with recordkeeping, reporting and inspection requirements. The relief will fulfill a central purpose of the Fair Housing Act: ensuring equitable treatment of neighborhoods regardless of their racial makeup. The Fair Housing Act, for example, makes it illegal to "make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement" that would limit housing options for protected groups. NFHA is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Tex. Monthly property management resources will be delivered to your inbox! The amended complaint, which was filed on January 12, 2021, alleged that the Village violated the substantial burden and equal terms provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by denying Light of the World Gospel Ministries, a non-denominational Christian church, a permit to construct a new church in the Village. As the trade association for over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities. Rental scams 101: 6 strategies property managers can use to keep themselves and their listings safe, Website accessibility and ADA compliance for property managers, 5 housing regulations for 2020: What property managers need to know, Property maintenance services: The complete checklist and guide, 10 property management bookkeeping basics, How does a 1031 exchange work? Box 26087 Raleigh, NC 27611-6087 1-855-797-3247 info@fairhousingnc.org Our Mission The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. For example, a real estate agent may refuse to work with someone based solely on the color of their skin, or they may lie about whether a certain home is still available. (For example, yesterday can be changed to last week, and Portland, Ore. to Portland or here.), You cannot republish our photographs or illustrations without specific permission. Tenn.). Summaries are included below. Case Name. The plaintiffs collected more than 49,000 photographs revealing poorly maintained properties in Black and Latino communities, particularly as compared to properties in predominantly White neighborhoods. The complaint alleges that City National Bank (City National), violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by engaging in unlawful redlining in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Division (Los Angeles County) by avoiding providing credit services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods because of the race, color, and national origin of the people living in those neighborhoods. If the complainant is a tenant or someone you know, your first instinct may be to go give them a piece of your mind (over email, phone, or even in person). The plaintiffs will manage and disburse the settlement funds, providing much-needed grants, including down-payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers and renovations for homes that languished in foreclosure. United States v. Countrywide Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans and Countrywide Bank. You cant sell our material separately or syndicate it. (N.D. In 2011, HUD agreed to pay roughly $62 million under a new Blight Reduction Grant Adjustment program. According to lending data, African-American customers in the Chicago area paid on average $2,937 more in broker feesthan similarly situated white customers. v. INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES PROJECT, INC., ET AL. 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The jury also found that the United States had not proven that Defendant unlawfully denied the accommodation requested by a unit owner who had filed a HUD complaint and intervened as a plaintiff. There are certain reasonable factors that are strongly considered, such as income and debt, but there are other factors that should never be taken into consideration. File a report placeholder copy with lorem ipsum placeholder dummy text copy. With the disparate impact standard, the Department of Justice was able to argue that the disproportionate harm to communities of color put predatory lenders in violation of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. NFHA and the plaintiff fair housing organizations will use over $35 million of the settlement to promote homeownership, neighborhood stabilization, access to credit, property rehabilitation, and residential development in the 39 metropolitan areas at issue in the case. The court ordered defendant to pay the aggrieved persons, a married couple, $37,431 in compensatory damages, entered an injunction requiring the defendant to promptly respond to requests for accommodations for assistance animals, maintain records, and follow the policies it adopted after the jury verdict for the next three years, and assessed a civil penalty of $1. Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). HUD announced several notable Conciliation Agreements/Voluntary Compliance Agreements from October to December, 2021, including complaints involving language access rights, landlord liability for neighbor harassment, and COVID-19 visitor restrictions. For Immediate Release February 23, 2018 Contact: Shanti Abedin | (202) 898-1661 | sabedin@nationalfairhousing.org National Fair Housing Alliance Settles Disparate Impact Lawsuit with Travelers Indemnity Company Washington, D.C. - The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) announced today that it has settled a lawsuit with Travelers Indemnity Company. For example, some people may constantly endure harassment from their landlords because of their gender or race. The Fair Housing Project ofLegal Aid of North Carolinaworks to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. However, if you do feel like something is not quite right, it may be worth taking the next step. Keep careful records of any problematic behaviors exhibited by all tenants. The complaint, which was filed on October 30, 2020, alleges that the owners and managers of a 15-lot mobile home park in West Plains, Missouri discriminated on the basis of disability by requiring a pet deposit for the complainants assistance animal and verbally harassing the complainants, brandishing a gun, and physically attacking one of the complainants. The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) announced a settlement agreement today to resolve a fair housing lawsuit that will expand housing opportunities for consumers in communities of color in . The official versions of court documents are the versions available from the court. all v. HUD and Paul Rainwater, Executive Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Develop a written tenant selection plan and stick to it. The court also issued a memorandum opinion explaining its rulings. Others may be evicted from their homes for no reason other than their ethnicity or religion. If you believe your mortgage application was turned down for an unfair reason and that you were strictly discriminated against, you may be eligible to pursue monetary compensation in a lawsuit. Tex.). If you are a resident of the European Union, DO NOT USE THIS SITE. On February 2, 2023, the United States filed a complaint in United States v. City of El Paso, Texas, et al. 3 Center Plaza, Suite 400 Legal Aid of North Carolina does not provide legal assistance by email. The grants will also include innovative programs and partnerships to promote fair housing. The Road Home program was supposed to provide storm victims with funding to rebuild their homes, but based their compensation on their houses original value rather than the cost of damage. While we endeavor to ensure that the electronic copies of court documents available on this site are complete and accurate (apart from formatting changes necessitated by the conversion to HTML or PDF format), errors or omissions may occur. (1) The complaints and settlement documents for the cases discussed in the text, as well as other cases handled by the Housing Section, can be found on the Housing Sections website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/caselist.php. The complaint alleges that the defendant discriminated on the basis of sex in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by sexually harassing the complainant when she rented housing in a building the he owned and managed and by retaliating against her by ordering her to move out after she objected to his advances. Determining whether you have been discriminated against when it comes to buying or renting housing is not always easy.