October 3, 2016
Fair Housing laws affect house hunters and potential FHA loan applicants at all levels of their search for housing. Whether you are ready to fill out a loan application to purchase property, or need to rent an apartment as an interim solution while you search for a home, Fair Housing laws are there to protect borrowers from discrimination in the housing process.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a $38 million initiative designed to help national and local agencies fight housing discrimination. The funding will support more than 100 agencies.
“This year, HUD provided competitive funding under three notices to organizations that support a wide range of fair housing enforcement, education and outreach activities” says the press release HUDNo.16-150, which adds, “These grants allow the groups to provide fair housing enforcement through testing in the rental and sales markets, to file fair housing complaints to HUD, and to conduct investigations.”
The press release adds that the activities these organizations conduct, “also help to educate the public, housing providers and local governments about their rights and responsibilities” via Fair Housing Act protections.
“Every person should have a fair chance to live in a community of opportunity, free from discrimination,” said HUD Secretary Julian Castro, who is quoted in the press release. He adds, “HUD remains deeply committed to fighting housing discrimination so folks have an equal shot at achieving the American Dream.Working closely with our fair housing partners on the ground, the investments we make today are a strong step forward to put an end to housing discrimination.”
The $38 million includes funding for what the FHA describes as “private enforcement” initiatives. “These awards help nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations carry out investigations and other enforcement activities to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices. This year’s PEI funds awarded a total of $30,350,000. Of this amount, $29,375,000 was awarded to fiscal year 2014, 2015 and 2016 Multi-Year awardees, while the remaining funding was reserved for fiscal year 2016 Lending Component awardees.”
Any house hunter, renter, borrower, etc. who feels discriminated against should file a Fair Housing complaint file a complaint by contacting HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed by going to www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
Browse by Date: