Articles Tagged With: Fair Housing Act

November 19, 2019

HUD Announces Fair Housing Act Violation Settlement With Oglethorpe Square Apartments, GA and Gene B. Glick Company, Inc.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a housing discrimination case involving Oglethorpe Square Apartments of Savannah, Georgia, and Gene B. Glick Company, Inc., of Indianapolis, Indiana. Housing discrimination creates unfair conditions for those who need to rent or buy a home and thanks to the Fair Housing Act there is recourse for those who experience discrimination at any stage of the housing process (see below for information on how to report housing discrimination). Many times, the only people who have the power to stop further violations of federal law are the victims of the discrimination; without reporting the illegal activity, it can go on uncontested for a long time. It’s hard to believe that in the 21st century we must still read about the | more...

November 6, 2019

HUD Announces Million Dollar Settlement With Bridgeport Housing Authority Over Disability Discrimination Claims

By Bruce Reichstein

No matter what stage you are at in the house-hunting process, discrimination has a chilling effect on your efforts to find a home. It does not matter if you are renting or buying, discrimination corrupts every stage of the housing process. That is one reason we report on Fair Housing cases here; borrowers sometimes don’t fully understand their rights or the fact that in order to prevent future discrimination tomorrow, the victims of today’s Fair Housing Act violations have to report the illegal activity to call it to the attention of HUD. This is vital in any case; in today’s action, HUD did not get the initial complaint from an outside source (which seems rare for this type of Fair Housing Act issue) but rather from a HUD compliance review | more...

October 1, 2019

HUD Brings Fair Housing Act Charges Against New York Landlord

By Bruce Reichstein

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges of violation of the Fair Housing Act against a landlord in Hamburg, New York. The landlord, named in the HUD complaint as Thomas Frawley, is charged with “refusing to rent to and making discriminatory statements about families with children” according to a press release at the FHA/HUD official site. Fair Housing Act laws make it illegal to discriminate against those seeking housing (rental or purchase) because of family status including having children below the age of 18 years old. There are certain exceptions for age-restricted housing; the HUD official site reminds, “Housing may exclude children only if it meets the Fair Housing Act’s exemption” for certain types of housing meant only for older tenants. The charges in this case | more...

September 17, 2019

HUD Brings Charges Against Housing Design And Construction Companies

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges against companies in New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act. We report about Fair Housing cases in this space to remind house hunters of their Fair Housing Act rights, but it’s not as common to report on a case that spans multiple companies and states the way this case does. HUD’s charge involves accusations of housing discrimination associated with the design and construction “of a 40-unit North 8 Condominium development in Brooklyn, New York, in accordance with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act”. Those named in the HUD Fair Housing Act charges include Toll Brothers, Inc.; Toll Land XIII Limited Partner; Lendlease (US) Construction LMB, Inc; Greenberg Farrow Architecture, Inc.; and 51 | more...

September 3, 2019

HUD Announces Fair Housing Charges Against Colorado Landlords

By Bruce Reichstein

Housing discrimination can affect any stage of the house hunting process. And even when that discrimination occurs with a rental property, it can seriously affect the ability to locate and purchase a home. House hunters who need to rent during their journey to home ownership have it difficult enough with all the paperwork and preparation in the home buying process. They don’t need violations of federal law making the process harder, and sometimes the victims of such discrimination are the only ones who have the power to stop future vioations. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced Fair Housing Act charges for owners and manager of a complex in Gunnison, Colorado. David B. Welch, John H.Welch, and Ruth E. Welch are all named as Respondents in | more...

August 1, 2019

FHA Home Loan Rules And Fair Housing Laws

By Bruce Reichstein

We report on Fair Housing cases from time to time, a reminder to those looking for housing that there are federal laws that protect against discrimination in housing. But what are the FHA home loan rules in this area? Did you know that the FHA loan program has specific instructions to the lender regarding Fair Housing laws? Those instructions are found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA Single-Family Home Loan Handbook. Page 120 of that handbook instructs the lender, “The Mortgagee is required to comply with all federal, state and local laws, rules, and requirements applicable to the mortgage transaction, including all applicable disclosure requirements and the requirements of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including those related to: Truth in Lending Act (TILA); and Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA).” | more...

July 30, 2019

HUD Approves California Housing Discrimination Settlement

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a California housing discrimination case involving complaints of “redlining” against CIT Group, Inc., and CIT Bank, N.A., doing business as OneWest Bank. Investopedia.com defines redlining as “an unethical practice” that can include denying mortgages, mortgage insurance, or other financial services based on location (the justification being that such locations are “bad neighborhoods”) rather than “an individual’s qualifications and creditworthiness.” This practice was made illegal by the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, the Fair Housing Act makes it a violation of federal law for discriminating on the basis of race or national origin to include the practice of denying credit to residents of predominantly minority neighborhoods. “Homeownership is the foundation of the American dream,” said Anna María Farías, HUD’s Assistant | more...

HUD Announces Expanded Disaster Relief Options

July 24, 2019

HUD Announces Fair Housing Agreement In California Discrimination Case

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a concillaition agreement in a California Fair Housing discrimination case. Recently, HUD approved a $10,000 Conciliation Agreement between a California fair housing group and “the agents and mortgage company for Boardwalk Townhomes in Corona, California. This agreement settles allegations that Boardwalk Townhomes discriminated against African American home seekers” according to a HUD press release. Federal Fair Housing Act laws forbid those in the housing industry from offering different terms or conditions on the sale or rental of a dwelling based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Those who have been discriminated against in such a fashion should report violations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “A person’s race should never be a factor in | more...

July 17, 2019

Fair Housing: HUD Partners With John Marshall Law School

By Bruce Reichstein

The Fair Housing Act is an important law that requires those at every stage of the housing process to provide discrimination-free practices. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is at the forefront of efforts to insure fair housing, but the agency wants to do more than just act as the enforcement arm of Fair Housing law whether applicable to borrowers and house hunters or to those looking for rental properties. HUD recently announced a partnership with the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, and Cloudburst Consulting Group, Inc., to develop the National Fair Housing Training Academy (NFHTA). According to a press release on the HUD official site, this academy “will prepare fair housing advocates, lawyers, investigators, and other stakeholders on effective strategies and techniques for addressing discriminatory housing policies | more...

July 11, 2019

HUD Charges Maine Apartment Owners With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Bruce Reichstein

Violations of the Fair Housing Act can seriously compromise a house hunter’s ability to find and keep housing. Even discrimination at the rental level can affect the ability to buy a home-how is someone supposed to rent an apartment in the meantime while dealing with discrimination? We report on these issues to raise awareness of how Fair Housing Act laws make house hunting more accessible and how violations of these laws hinder the consumer. In a recent example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges against Roderick Apartments in Clinton, Maine for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act. These charges are associated with a complaint that the apartment owners denied a veteran with disabilities to keep an assistance animal on the property. Fair Housing Act | more...