January 17, 2013
The FHA and HUD have issued a press release announcing the settlement of a housing discrimination case involving a company in Virginia Beach, VA.
According to HUDNo.13-006, “Virginia Realty Company of Tidewater, Inc., a property management company based in Virginia Beach, VA, will pay $82,500 to settle allegations that it refused to allow a Hispanic woman to apply for an apartment because she did not speak fluent English. Virginia Realty had a policy of not renting to persons with limited English proficiency. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the rental of housing on the basis of national origin.”
The press release adds a quote by John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, who states, “Denying housing because a person does not speak English well violates the Fair Housing Act,” said “This settlement reaffirms HUD’s commitment to combating discrimination against a person because of their national origin or the language they speak.”
This is a discrimination case involving a rental property. Why are we discussing it on a site that deals with FHA home loans?
Because such discrimination is illegal in all parts of the housing industry, not just apartment rental, and such discrimination can and has occurred with people in similar circumstances who seek a home and a loan to buy the property with; the same federal laws that apply in this case would also protect the same people if or when they decide to apply for a mortgage loan.
According to the press release, the facts in this case “came to HUD’s attention when a Hispanic woman filed a complaint alleging that Virginia Realty, a property management company that manages over 500 rental units throughout Virginia Beach and Norfolk, refused to provide her a rental application because she could not speak English well and refused the translation assistance of the bilingual person she brought with her. Based on her experience, HUD launched a Secretary-initiated Investigation to determine whether the alleged discrimination was systemic.”
HUD initiated an investigation into these allegations and found that, “Virginia Realty had a written policy expressly requiring all prospective tenants to be able to communicate with management staff in English without assistance from others, and to complete rental applications only while they were in the management office.”
Borrowers or FHA loan applicants who feel they have experienced similar discrimination in any part of the housing process should contact the FHA/HUD directly as soon as possible by calling (800) 669-9777.
Do you have questions about FHA home loans? Ask us in the comments section.
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.
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