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Old news

(More recent news is available here.)

HUD report finds people living with mental disabilities face significant rental housing discrimination

September 5, 2017 WASHINGTON — Persons living with mental illness, intellectual or other developmental disabilities continue to face significant housing discrimination in the rental housing market, according to a new pilot study released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The pilot study revealed that individuals with mental disabilities seeking rental housing were:

  • Less likely to receive a response to their inquiry in e-mail testing
  • Less likely to be told an advertised unit was available in in-person testing
  • Less likely to be invited to contact the housing provider in e-mail testing
  • Less likely to be invited to inspect the available unit in telephone testing
  • More likely to be encouraged to look at a different unit than the one advertised in telephone testing, a potential indicator of steering people with mental illness and intellectual or developmental disabilities toward specific buildings or areas within rental complexes
  • Treated adversely at disparate rates depending on disability type, with higher rates of adverse treatment found for individuals with mental illness than for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities
  • A significant percentage of people with mental disability seeking reasonable accommodation were given a negative response to their request. (a reasonable accommodation is a request to for an exception to a rule, policy, practice or procedure of a housing provider; example, Rule: no requests for payment reminder will be accepted, the reasonable accommodation is to waive that rule.)

The main pilot study and four supplemental papers can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/MentalDisabilities-FinalPaper.html.


COFHA and 19 fair housing organizations charge Deutsche Bank and its preservation maintenance companies with housing discrimination based on race and national origin

News release July 26, 2017 — The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) announced that it has found substantial new evidence in support of allegations that Deutsche Bank, Ocwen Financial, and Altisource continue to discriminate against communities of color in 30 metropolitan areas throughout the United States. NFHA has filed an amended administrative complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). NFHA alleges that Deutsche Bank AG, Deutsche Bank National Trust, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Ocwen Financial Corporation, and Altisource Portfolio Solutions, Inc. fail to provide required routine maintenance on bank-owned homes in middle- and working-class African American and Latino neighborhoods, while Deustche/Ocwen/Altisource consistently provide routine maintenance on similar bank-owned homes in white neighborhoods.




Fair Housing Accessibility Design & Construction Training

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Fair Housing Accessibility Design and Construction Training logo Registration for the free training is closed. However, we can still accommodate a few more participants in the room. There is a fee of $35 per late registration; late registration fees are non-refundable under any circumstances. Late registrants will still receive the full continuing education credit, provided they attend the full session.

All registrants should note that the location of the class has been changed to:

Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom West

Ohio Union — 2nd Floor

1739 N. High Street

Columbus, OH 43210

To register for the class or to see detailed information including info about parking and info for people with mobility issues, please visit:

http://cofha.com/fhaccess/


Fair Housing Accessibility Design & Construction Training

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Fair Housing Accessibility Design and Construction Training logoThe Central Ohio Fair Housing Association invites you to a free* training on the Accessible Design and Construction Requirements of the Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). This workshop will educate housing and construction professionals on the FHA’s technical requirements and HUD’s Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines and will promote compliance with those requirements.

This course has been approved for 6.0 HSW hours of continuing education by the Ohio Architects Board and the Ohio Landscape Architects Board. This course has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 5.75 total CLE hours instruction. This course has been approved for 6.0 hours of continuing education credits by the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing.

For more information or to register go to:
http://cofha.com/fhaccess/.

Registration closes at 5:00 pm EDT on Monday, July 3.


Proposed White House budget for HUD would slash funding for housing and community development programs

According to a report from Politico.com, the White House's proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would cut funding in fiscal year 2018 to about $40 billion, a cut of $6 billion. In the budget draft obtained by Politico, the administration says it will rely upon “a greater role for state and local governments and the private sector” in paying for programs previously funded by HUD.

Ben Carson Among the programs that would be eliminated are the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the Choice Neighborhoods revitalizations program, and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. CDBG grants help low- and moderate-income communities with development projects such as housing, roads and sewer.

The draft budget also includes cuts of $974 million to rental assistance for tenants, eliminating a veterans housing program, reducing money available for Section 8 vouchers, and reducing capital funding for public housing.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s president, Diane Yentel, criticized the proposed budget, saying, “The budget reflects a cruel indifference to the millions of low-income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, veterans, and other vulnerable people who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads.”

For more information, read Politico’s article, “HUD budget slashes housing programs, drawing protests from advocates.”


Fair Housing 101 Workshop

Tenant and Landlord Rights and Responsibilities

COFHA and the Center for Disability Empowerment present Fair Housing 101 Workshop. The workshop is approved for 1 hour of CEUs for real estate agents by the Ohio Department of Commerce.

At the workshop you will:

  • Gain valuable information on the non-discrimination requirements of the Fair Housing Act and Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988.
  • Learn the 7 Accessible Design and Construction Requirements of the Fair Housing Amendments Act.
  • Find out what reasonable accommodation requests by a person with a disability property owners are required to consider.
  • Learn what tenant and landlords need to know about service animals and emotional support animals.

Three Dates and Locations

  • Monday, April 17, 2017, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • Community Development For All People
  • 946 Parsons Ave., Columbus, OH 43206
  • Monday, April 24, 2017, 10 a.m. – Noon
  • Mount Carmel West Healthy Living Center (Bldg 2)
  • 777 West State Street Columbus, OH 43222
  • Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
  • Columbus Public Library – Linden Branch (Linden Meeting Room)
  • 2223 Cleveland Ave., Columbus, OH 43211

To register and for any reasonable accommodation requests, including interpreting, please email Derek Mortland at mortland.cde@gmail.com or call the Center for Disability Empowerment at 614-575-8055.

 

Fair Housing laws protect immigrants, refugees, and people of all religious faiths

COFHA can help you

State and federal fair housing laws prohibit discrimination based on national origin, religion, and ancestry. See our mission statement for a complete list of all the people protected from discrimination and to see the services available to assist those who experience discrimination.

Fair housing laws protect immigrants, refugees and people of all religious faiths.

Picture of people who may face discrimination because of being immigrants or refugees, because of where they come from, or because of their religious faith

Call Central Ohio Fair Housing Association (COFHA) at 614-344-4663 if you think you have been the victim of housing discrimination because you are an immigrant or a refugee, because of where you are from, or because of your religious faith.

The fair housing laws protect you regardless of your immigration status.

It is illegal for landlords to treat you differently because of your immigration status, national origin, or religion. That means people involved in renting homes cannot:

  • refuse to rent to you because you are an immigrant or refugee or because of your religious faith;
  • refuse to rent to you because you are not from the United States;
  • charge you more rent or a higher security deposit because of where you are from, your immigration status, or because of your religious faith;
  • require you to get a co-signer because you are an immigrant, refugee or because of your religion;
  • tell you not to cook food you like because of the smell;
  • refuse to rent to you because you or some of your family members do not speak English;
  • tell you that you must speak English when outside of your apartment;
  • force you to choose an apartment near other people who are from the same country, speak the same language as you, or are of the same religion;
  • enforce rules against you or your family because you are an immigrant or refugee or because of your religion but not enforce those rules against anyone else.
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Image of the word Arabic in Arabic

It is illegal for landlords to ask you to identify your religion.

It is illegal for landlords to ask you questions about your immigration status because of how you look, talk or dress.

Some landlords, owners, real estate agents, etc., might ask if you are in the country legally, ask to see your green card or visa, or ask for your Social Security number. If you think that you are being asked about your immigration status because of where you are from, call COFHA at 614-344-4663.

State and federal fair housing laws continue to protect you once you are living in your house or apartment. Landlords, owners, real estate agents, or anyone else may not:

  • ask you to remove your head scarf, hijab, burka, keffiyeh, kippah, other religious clothing, or other religious symbol;
  • evict you because of your religion, your immigration status, or your refugee status;
  • threaten or harass you because of your religion, your immigration status, or your refugee status.
Thanks to Connecticut Fair Housing Center
Thanks to the Connecticut Fair Housing Center for allowing us to use information and wording from their Know Your Rights page.

Harassment or threats include:

  • Threatening to report you to the police or immigration authorities because of your immigration status;
  • Saying you will be deported;
  • Telling you to go back to your own country;
  • Painting graffiti or writing on your home, including using slurs or threats to harm you or your family if you do not move out;
  • Yelling racial, ethnic, or religious slurs at you and your family;
  • Blocking access to your home, your belongings, or property amenities (like a swimming pool or laundry area)

You are also protected if you are buying a home or attempting to get a mortgage. If you believe you are being prevented from buying a home or getting a loan because of your immigration status, refugee status or your religion, call COFHA at 614-344-4663.

*There are some exemptions from the fair housing laws. Even if you think your landlord may be exempt from the laws, please call COFHA at 614-344-4663.


Donald Trump Is Targeting an Agency That Has Recovered $11.8 Billion for Consumers

January 30th, 2017 — Within days of being sworn in, President Donald Trump has already pledged to cut business regulations by 75%. One way he is likely to fulfill that promise, at least in part, is by defanging a legacy of the 2008 financial crisis: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

That could mean the functional end to the consumer watchdog, which has been responsible for returning roughly $11.8 billion to some 29 million consumers since its inception in 2011, according to data from the bureau. That's an average of $407 returned to each affected consumer, affecting roughly 9% of the U.S. population (assuming no single consumer was a victim in more than one case).

The agency was conceived by a group of consumer advocates including Elizabeth Warren (then a Harvard Law School professor and congressional advisor, and now a senator from Massachusetts), partly in response to reports of deceptive mortgage lending practices that helped precipitate the housing crash. Designed to safeguard consumers in their dealings with the financial-services industry, the CFPB has made moves to curb abuses in the payday, student, and auto lending industries. The agency has also focused on predatory lending practices that target low-income consumers that can ill afford their loans.

Read the entire article here.

 

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Ohio-Based Banks to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination

Settlement Provides $9 Million to Ensure Equal Lending Services to African-American Communities in Ohio and Indiana

December 29th, 2016 — The Justice Department filed a consent order today to resolve allegations that Union Savings Bank and Guardian Savings Bank engaged in a pattern or practice of “redlining” predominantly African-American neighborhoods in and around Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; and Indianapolis. “Redlining” is the discriminatory practice by banks or other financial institutions of denying or avoiding providing credit services to consumers because of the racial demographics of the neighborhood in which the consumer lives.

The settlement, which is subject to court approval, was filed in conjunction with the department’s complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The complaint alleges that Union and Guardian violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibit financial institutions from discriminating on the basis of race and color in their mortgage lending practices. The lawsuit alleges that, from at least 2010 through 2014, Union and Guardian served the credit needs of the residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to a significantly greater extent than they served the credit needs of majority African-American neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are easily recognized because each of the four metropolitan areas in which the banks operate has long maintained highly-segregated residential housing patterns for African Americans. Both banks are headquartered in Cincinnati and share common ownership and management.

Read the entire article on the Department of Justice’s website.

 

The New York Times Article on Federal Lawsuit Over Neglected Foreclosures

December 13th, 2016 — The New York Times has written about our lawsuit against Fannie Mae. Reporters Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui’s article, “Mowed Lawns or Broken Mailboxes: Foreclosure’s Unequal Toll,” reviews the evidence compiled by COFHA, the National Fair Housing Alliance and 19 other fair housing organizations that shows Fannie Mae’s neglect of the foreclosed properties it owns in minority neighborhoods.

Photo from article

From the article:

In Baton Rouge, La., Gloria Williams lives next door to property No. 8440 in the investigation’s database, a blue-and-white clapboard house that had what seemed to be a jungle out back and boarded-up windows when investigators visited it in 2014. Ms. Williams, 75, has lived on the block for 47 years, in a home where she raised her son and cared for her mother and has always made sure the lawn was mowed. Her census tract, as of 2010, was 98 percent black.

“They wouldn’t dare let a house grow up like that in a white community — they’d have had somebody out there cutting the grass every week,” Ms. Williams said of the property next door. On final count, it logged 16 problems. “You don’t live here, so it doesn’t bother you,” she said, “but it bothers people that live here.”

Read the entire article on The New York Times website.

 

Statement from Shanna Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance, on President-elect Trump’s Selection to Lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development

December 6th, 2016 — Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued the following statement on the selection of Dr. Ben Carson as the proposed Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) plays a crucial role in our nation’s communities. HUD’s many programs help ensure that each of us has a safe, decent and affordable home in which to live, creating a stable foundation for success in life. They also help to create vibrant, healthy communities that provide their residents with access to the opportunities they need to flourish. Perhaps most important of all is the role that HUD plays in enforcing the Fair Housing Act, so that no one seeking housing is turned away because of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, family status or disability. There are an estimated 4 million acts of housing discrimination each year. This discrimination not only violates the law, it runs counter to our country’s strongly-held values of fairness and equal opportunity. We need a strong leader at HUD who believes in fair housing and will enforce our fair housing rights with vigor and determination.

A critical component of HUD’s fair housing responsibilities is its work to carry out the mandate it was given by Congress to break down the barriers created by the many decades of government policies that explicitly created segregated communities, to the detriment of the people in those communities and our nation as a whole. This mandate recognizes that where you live matters, because it determines your access to good jobs, good schools, reliable and affordable transportation, a clean and safe environment, and many other aspects of your life. Fulfilling this mandate requires strategic use of federal and other resources both to reinvest in neighborhoods—often poor communities of color—that have been neglected and left behind, and to connect more affordable housing with good schools, jobs and the like. This is a mandate that the next HUD secretary must embrace.

Through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), HUD also plays an important role in the mortgage market. FHA has been a major source of home purchasing for people of color, as well as those with modest incomes. It has put thousands of families on a safe and sustainable path to building wealth that they can use to send their children to college, start or expand a small business, pay for retirement, and pass along to the next generation. FHA helped to stabilize the mortgage market in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the tidal wave of foreclosures that accompanied it, a national tragedy that must never be repeated. Households of color represent the majority of new household formation and will be the majority of new home buyers in the future. If they lack access to safe, affordable and sustainable credit, this country will not have a robust housing market and the economy will suffer. The new HUD secretary must understand and support this role for FHA.

Should Dr. Carson be confirmed by Congress, NFHA and its members are committed to working with him and the next administration to continue the important work of the Fair Housing Act—protecting individuals and families from discrimination, and building strong neighborhoods that provide their residents with robust opportunities for success.


COFHA, National Fair Housing Alliance and 19 Other Civil Rights Groups File Federal Lawsuit Over Neglected Foreclosures

Photo of Fannie Mae REO from October 2014
click to view full presentation
December 6th, 2016 — The Central Ohio Fair Housing Center (COFHA), the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 local fair housing organizations from across the United States filed a housing discrimination lawsuit against Fannie Mae in federal district court in San Francisco, California. The lawsuit alleges that Fannie Mae purposely fails to maintain its foreclosures (also known as real estate owned or “REO” properties) in middle- and working-class African American and Latino neighborhoods to the same level of quality it does for foreclosures it owns in white middle- and working-class neighborhoods.

The lawsuit is the result of a multi-year investigation. During the past several years, Fannie Mae was notified many times of its failure to maintain and market its foreclosed homes in communities of color to the same standard to which it was maintaining and marketing the foreclosed homes it owned in similar, predominantly white neighborhoods. In spite of numerous meetings with Fannie Mae to address these disparities in maintenance and marketing, Fannie Mae persisted in its willful neglect of its properties in African American and Latino neighborhoods.

 

Visit COFHA at the Columbus Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo

Columbus Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo December 5, 2016 — The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association will be exhibiting at the Columbus Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo on January 6–8 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, halls E and F.

When: Friday, January 6th, 12 pm-7 pm
  Saturday, January 7th, 10 am-7 pm
  Sunday, January 8th, 10 am-5 pm
Where: Halls E and F at the
Greater Columbus Convention Center

 

Housing Is Health Care in the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS Community Presentation

October 17, 2016 — John Zimmerman, Vice President of the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association, will present a session titled Housing Is Health Care in the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS Community at the 2016 Transforming Care Midwest Conference on LGBTQ Health Equity and HIV/AIDS on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 9:45AM at the Fawcett Center at The Ohio State University.

Presentation description:

  • We know that people living with HIV experience health disparities, as do individuals with a history of incarceration or other legal concerns. Individuals at the intersection of both of these identities can be especially vulnerable, and may have very specific needs from helping professionals, from both a clinical and community perspective. This facilitated panel presentation will include the experiences of several clinical social workers and other helping professionals who serve hiv-positive clients with a history of incarceration.

About the conference:

  • This event evolved as a result of the work of two Ohio-based coalitions. The Ohio AIDS Coalition introduced the Ohio Leadership Conference on HIV/AIDS in 1997 and the Central Ohio LGBTQ Health Coalition introduced the Central Ohio LGBTQ Health Equity Conference in 2015. For the first time these two events will come together to expand the mission of both conferences.

  • Transforming Care will bring together over 450 activists, academics, community members, health and social service professionals and others interested in reducing health disparities in the LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS community.

The conference runs October 20-21, 2016. For more information about the conference, including information about keynote speakers, schedules, information about CEUs, and to register visit transformingcareconference.com.


HUD Announces New Protections for Victims of Harassment in Housing

September 30, 2016 — The Department of Housing and Urban Development released the final version of a rule on September 13, 2016 that formalizes legal standards under the Fair Housing Act for sexual and other forms of harassment in housing.

The rule, Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices Under the Fair Housing Act, “specifies how HUD will evaluate claims of “hostile environment” and “quid pro quo” harassment in both private and publicly-assisted housing.” (Click to read HUD’s press release.)

The major provisions of this rule:

  • Formalize definitions of “quid pro quo harassment” and “hostile environment harassment” under the Fair Housing Act.
  • Formalize standards for evaluating claims of quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment under the Fair Housing Act.
  • Add illustrations of prohibited quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment to HUD's existing Fair Housing Act regulations.
  • Identify traditional principles of direct and vicarious liability applicable to all discriminatory housing practices under the Fair Housing Act, including quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment.

Read the entire Rule in the Federal Register here.


City of Los Angeles to pay more than $200 million in largest accessibility settlement involving affordable housing

L.A. will ensure that 4,000 units are accessible to people who use wheelchairs, have hearing impairments or live with other disabilities

August 31, 2016 — The City of Los Angeles has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit brought by advocates for fair housing and accessible housing that alleged the city failed to build accessible housing in the affordable housing complexes developed by the city with public money.

The Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley, the Independent Living Center of Southern California, and Communities Actively Living Independent and Free brought the lawsuit because they said L.A. had flouted state and federal anti-discrimination laws requiring that housing built with government assistance be built to meet particular accessibility standards such as doorways, kitchens and bathrooms that can accommodate wheelchairs.

“They were not merely technical violations,” said the groups’s attorney, Michael Allen of Relman, Dane & Colfax. “They were, in every instance that we studied, significant barriers to people with disabilities using those units, and in some cases the common areas leading to them.”

For more information about the case and its settlement, read this article in the LA Times.


Affordable housing program concentrates family housing development in highly-segregated poor neighborhoods, according to new report

Groups urge Ohio Housing Finance Agency to broaden opportunities for families with children to live in areas of high opportunity

Click to read the report on
LIHTC housing in Ohio
.

August 16, 2016 — According to a new report—LIHTC Awards in Ohio, 2006–2015: Where Are They Providing Housing for Families with Children?—Ohio’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program has maintained historic patterns of racial and economic segregation. The report, commissioned by legal aid and fair housing programs in Ohio and prepared by Abt Associates (a national research firm with expertise in housing), found that in Montgomery County and all of Ohio virtually all affordable rental housing developed through the program for families has been placed in highly-segregated, high poverty areas. Moreover, the LIHTC program has also cut back on development of housing serving families with children.

People on low incomes continue to find it more difficult to find housing they can afford. In Ohio, the LIHTC program helps finance affordable rental-housing units for low-income households and is administered by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA). The LIHTC program is designed to provide families access safe and affordable housing. It helps non-profit and for-profit developers finance affordable housing through federal tax breaks. Yet, through prioritization within its Qualified Allocation Plan and through the awards granted by LIHTC, OFHA perpetuates segregation and reduces housing choice for low-income, African American households and households with children.

The report documents that:

  • In Ohio only 3.8 percent of LIHTC family units are in census areas with a poverty rate of less than 10 percent.
  • In the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), more than 58 percent of the awards for units in family properties were in census tracts that are more than 75 percent African American, while such census tracts only include 9.3 percent of the MSA’s housing units.
  • In the Dayton MSA, only 3.4 percent of units in LIHTC family properties were awarded in areas with less than 10 percent poverty, where 35.6 percent of all housing units in the MSA are in such areas. Areas with extreme poverty concentrations have 37 percent of LIHTC family units but only 9.4 percent of all housing units. Looking at areas by percent black or African American, an overwhelming majority of housing units—81.2 percent—is in areas with low concentrations of African Americans, but only 21.3 percent of LIHTC family units.

“This report could not be any clearer. OHFA is failing in its obligation to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing,” said Jim McCarthy, President/CEO of the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center (MVFHC) and the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association (COFHA).

“This has been a long-standing problem with the LIHTC program,” McCarthy added. “A 2008 report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination found that the implementation of LIHTC had replicated the public housing trend of concentrating developments in highly segregated, poor neighborhoods throughout the United States. This report just brings it home and quantifies the extent of the Ohio problem—particularly in the six largest Ohio metropolitan areas.”

The neighborhood in which a child grows up has a profound influence on that child’s life opportunities including their educational attainment, overall health, income, exposure to dangers and life expectancy. A recent survey by Housing Research & Advocacy Center in Cleveland shows that low income families want housing near good schools in safe neighborhoods. Properties funded under the LIHTC program have not improved access to housing choices for low income families, instead resulting in LIHTC awards steadily placing family housing in high-poverty and racially segregated areas.

“As this report also demonstrates, there is a desperate need for economic development efforts in areas where affordable housing currently exists that will transform these distressed urban neighborhoods into diverse communities with high opportunity, access to jobs, transit, and quality education,” says Matthew Currie, Managing Attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE).

“OHFA must correct for the historical imbalance in its LIHTC allocations, as shown in Abt’s report, through bold action in its future awards,” continued Currie.

Legal aid programs and fair housing organizations in Ohio represent clients and communities that seek and support fair housing choice through the LIHTC program. In addition to MVFHC, COFHA and ABLE, they include Community Legal Aid Services, Inc.; Fair Housing Contact Service; Housing Opportunities Made Equal; Housing Research & Advocacy Center; The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland; The Legal Aid Society of Columbus; Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC; Ohio Disability Rights Law and Policy Center, Inc.; Ohio Poverty Law Center; Southeastern Ohio Legal Services; and Toledo Fair Housing Center.

 

Large regional property management company accused of housing discrimination

AMP Residential properties in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana allegedly discriminated against families with children

Click to read the press release
(también disponible en español)

July 13, 2016 — The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association (COFHA) has joined with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI), the Fair Housing Center of Southeast and Mid Michigan (FHCSEM), and the Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan (FHCSWM) in filing a fair housing complaint against AMP Residential logo AMP Residential, an Indianapolis-based property management company that owns and operates over 8,000 rental housing units in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Alabama. The complaint alleges that AMP has engaged in systemic discrimination against families with children across 20 properties evaluated in three states.

“Where a family lives dictates the parents’ access to employment, the children’s access to good schools, and the family’s access to grocery stores, healthcare, and other vital services,” said Jim McCarthy, COFHA’s President/CEO. “AMP Residential’s refusal to rent to families with children is a deliberate denial of their right to choose the communities that best serve their needs.”

COFHA, FHCWM, FHCCI, FHCSEM, and FHCSWM conducted a joint systemic investigation into the AMP properties located in their respective states. The complaint alleges that 20 apartment complexes, including Muirwood Village in Columbus, Ohio, were found to have unlawfully refused to rent units to families with children. Such overly restrictive occupancy standards impact the ability of families of children to find affordable, safe housing in neighborhoods of their choice.

In the complaint, AMP Residential is alleged to have a stated occupancy standard of no more than two people per bedroom in each apartment or townhome, regardless of the unit’s square footage or whether that unit has a den, office, or other feature that could provide an additional bedroom or living area for a child. AMP enforces this policy without regard to local health and property maintenance codes that state the square footage required for each occupant. In each of the 20 properties named in the complaint, AMP was found to have denied housing to families with children despite the apartments having ample square footage for the family size to be allowed by local codes. Not only were the families prohibited from living in particular units, but also many were denied from the complexes altogether due to their family size.

The following documents are available for additional information:

  • Press release (también disponible en español)
  • Complaint
  • Exhibits
 

Fair housing organizations file suit alleging violations of Fair Housing Act at multiple Metro Development properties

COFHA and MVFHC file federal lawsuit alleging accessibility violations

June 28, 2016 — The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association (COFHA) and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center (MVFHC) have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the developers, designers, management company, and owners of eight multifamily apartment complexes in metropolitan Columbus violated and continue to violate the accessibility requirements of the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA). The suit, filed on June 24, 2016, alleges that Metro Development LLC and several other companies have engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against people with disabilities in violation of the FHAA.

The defendants in the case include Metro Development LLC; Integrated Partners Development Company LLC; Oxford Circle Development LLC; Triangle Properties Development, LLC; Ardent Property Management, Inc.; Ardent Communities logoSBA Studios LLC; Albany Landings LLC; Four Pointe LLC; Northpark Place LLC; Remington Woods LLC; The Monroe House LLC; The Residences at Central Park LLC; The Woods at Perry Lane LLC; Winchester Park LLC; and the individual and corporate owners of buildings and/or dwelling units located at various properties, named solely because they may be necessary to effectuate any injunctive relief with respect to access, retrofitting, and policy implementation that may be ordered by the court in this matter.

The lawsuit alleges that Northpark Place and at least seven other properties in the Columbus area were designed by the same designer, developed by the same developers, are operated by the same management firm, have the same or similar floor plans, have the same design elements, and contain the same or similar design and construction violations.

In August 2015, after becoming aware that the multifamily housing complexes designed and/or developed by Metro Development did not include the FHAA’s required accessible and adaptable design elements, COFHA and MVFHC initiated an investigation of the properties including obtaining the plans and occupancy permits for Northpark and the other properties, visiting the properties, and reviewing information that is publicly available, including floor plans, showing the layout and structure for the properties.

The lawsuit explains that the plaintiffs’ 10-month investigation identified multiple FHAA design and construction violations at each property. Some of the issues revealed by the investigation and alleged in the lawsuit as violations include: lack of accessible bathrooms; lack of sufficient centered clear floor space at bathroom sinks, toilets, and other amenities for people with disabilities to enter and use the facilities; lack of adequate space in the kitchens for a person in a wheelchair to enter, maneuver, and access the appliances; lack of an accessible route from the pedestrian arrival areas to the primary entrances of dwellings; and lack of accessible mailboxes and gate hardware, which are located outside of reach range for wheelchair users and are therefore too high for some persons with disabilities to use them.

The Fair Housing Act makes it possible for organizations like COFHA and MVFHC to sue on behalf of the community in order to root out housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunities for all residents regardless of whether they receive a complaint from an individual. Stephen M. Dane, Sara K. Pratt, and Laura J. Gaztambide-Arandes, of Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC, a Washington, DC-based law firm that specializes in civil rights litigation, are representing the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit alleges that Metro Development and other defendants have made dwellings unavailable to people with physical disabilities in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, (FHA), 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1), and/or have discriminated against them in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the rental of dwellings in violation of the FHA, 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(2) and that the existing features at the subject properties do not comply with the FHA Accessibility Guidelines or with any other accessibility standard recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The complaint further alleges that both COFHA and MVFHC have been directly and substantially injured by the violations through a diversion of significant and scarce resources for the organizations and frustration of the organizations’ missions.

The suit asks the court to declare that Metro Development and other defendants have violated the federal Fair Housing Act; seeks a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from failing or refusing to:

  • declare that the defendants violated the FHAA and applicable regulations by designing and constructing and renting the subject properties;
  • bring the covered dwelling units and public and common use areas into compliance with the FHAA;
  • design or construct any covered multifamily dwellings in the future in compliance with the FHAA; and
  • make appropriate retrofits to all covered properties in order to bring them into compliance.

The lawsuit also seeks compensatory and punitive damages for both Central Ohio Fair Housing Association and Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, plus all attorney fees, costs, and expenses.

 

Fair Housing groups around the country demand Westchester enforcement

COFHA joins with nine other groups in calling for full enforcement of decree


Brief of 10 amici

Declaration in support

June 14, 2016 — In papers filed today in Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York, the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association (COFHA) joined with nine other civil rights from across the country in urging the Court to consider fully the facts and perspective brought to the Court’s attention in a May 11th letter from the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC). Pointing out that the failure to enforce the consent decree against Westchester County will embolden others across the country to perpetuate segregation, the groups asked the Court to order the robust remedies sought by ADC.

In addition to COFHA, the groups filing the papers are: Disability Law Center, Enhanced Section 8 Outreach Program, ERASE Racism, Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, Fair Housing Center of the Greater Palm Beaches, Fair Housing Council of Orange Country, Inclusive Communities Project, Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, and National Fair Housing Alliance.

COFHA and the other groups, except for Enhanced Section 8 Outreach Program, are represented by Mariann Meier Wang, a partner in the law firm Cuti Hecker Wang. Enhanced Section 8 Outreach Program is represented by its General Counsel, Jerrold M. Levy.

The groups thank COFHA President/CEO Jim McCarthy for his leadership in this matter.

 

Fair Housing Act Design and Construction Requirements

Nearly all covered multifamily dwellings constructed after March 13, 1991, are required to include seven design and construction accessibility features. The Fair Housing Act applies to both private sector and federally funded housing, and its requirements are separate from those found in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The seven design and construction accessibility requirements follow. The text for each is taken directly from the “7 Design & Construction Requirements” flyer distributed by Fair Housing Accessibility First.

  1. Accessible Entrance on an Accessible Route
    • Covered multifamily dwellings must have at least one building entrance on an accessible route unless it is impractical to do so because of terrain or unusual characteristics of the site.
  2. Accessible Public and Common-Use Areas
    • Public and common-use areas must be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
  3. Usable Doors
    • All doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises must be sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons in wheelchairs.
  4. Accessible Route Into and Through the Dwelling Unit
    • There must be an accessible route into and through the dwelling unit, providing access for people with disabilities.
  5. Accessible Light Switches, Electrical Outlets, Thermostats, and Environmental Controls
    • Light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental controls must be placed in accessible locations throughout the premises within the swelling unit.
  6. Reinforced Walls in Bathrooms
    • Bathroom walls must be reinforced to allow later installation of grab bars around the toilet, tub, shower stall, and shower seat.
  7. Usable Kitchens and Bathrooms
    • Dwelling units must contain usable kitchens and bathrooms such that an individual in a wheelchair can maneuver about the space and use the fixtures.

More information about these design and construction accessibility requirements, including specific information about the requirements, codes, “safe harbors,” common violations, training, technical guidance, and support may be found at the Fair Housing Accessibility First website or by calling toll-free (888) 341-7781 (V/TTY).

 

Fair Housing Month Observed in Central Ohio

In honor of Fair Housing Month, ten central Ohio jurisdictions have proclaimed April to be "Fair Housing Month" locally. We sincerely appreciate the cities of Bexley, Dublin, Gahanna, Grove City, Groveport, Hilliard, New Albany, Pickerington, Westerville, and Whitehall for showing their support of equal housing opportunity this month through their proclamations and all year through their work to affirmatively further fair housing in central Ohio.

Bexley proclamation
Bexley’s proclamation
Dublin proclamation
Dublin’s proclamation
Gahanna proclamation
Gahanna’s proclamation
Grove City proclamation
Grove City’s proclamation
Groveport proclamation
Groveport’s proclamation
Hilliard proclamation
Hilliard’s proclamation
New Albany proclamation
New Albany’s proclamation
Pickerington proclamation
Pickerington’s proclamation
Westerville proclamation
Westerville’s proclamation
Whitehall proclamation
Whitehall’s proclamation

 

Visit COFHA at the Columbus Home Improvement Show

Columbus Home Improvement Show April 13, 2015 — The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association will be exhibiting at the Columbus Home Improvement Show on April 15–17 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Stop by booth #443 for information about Fair Housing for consumers and professionals, as well as upcoming educational opportunities.

When: Friday, April 15th, 12 pm-7 pm
  Saturday, April 16th, 10 am-7 pm
  Sunday, April 17th, 10 am-5 pm
Where: Halls E/F at the Greater Columbus Convention Center


Outreach and Education Services Offered by the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association

The mission of the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association is “to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people in our region.” We work to accomplish this by offering a variety of outreach and educational services in addition to our work assisting victims of housing discrimination. COFHA staff has been engaged in community outreach and education for the past two years in metropolitan Columbus.

Our educational programming is designed for both the community and for housing professionals. Our community programming includes:

  • Brochure and literature placement: We offer a wide variety of materials that address specific issues of housing discrimination and Fair Housing, as well as general information and information about COFHA.
  • Staffing for public events: We are available to distribute literature and answer Fair Housing questions for attendees at public events, trade shows, festivals, schools, fairs, libraries, religious centers, community centers, and other community events.
  • Workshops and symposia: Our staff is available for staff in-services to train people how to make appropriate referrals for Fair Housing services. Additionally, COFHA staff is available to educate your clients, residents, and other housing consumers about housing discrimination and Fair Housing rights.

COFHA’s professional programming includes:

  • Continuing Education (CE) services: COFHA staff is available for 1 to 3 hour continuing education classes for real estate professionals, architects, insurance specialists, lending professionals, social workers, nurses, and other professionals whose work intersects with the provision of housing.
  • Focused workshops on Fair Housing Trends and Resources: Fair Housing Trends and Resources is a short course that is perfect for staff in-services in order to acquaint your staff with COFHA’s services.

Staff is always available to assist people who encounter housing discrimination. We listen to your experience, evaluate your case, and inform you of your rights and options. If you suspect that you have experienced housing discrimination, please contact COFHA immediately.

For more information about COFHA’s education and outreach programming or to report suspected housing discrimination, call us at 614-344-HOME (4663) or email Thom Curnutte at thom.curnutte@cofha.com.


Visit COFHA at the Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo

The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association will be exhibiting at the Build, Remodel & Landscape Expo on January 15–17 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Stop by our booth to talk to COFHA Fair Housing Specialist Thom Curnutte about Fair Housing for consumers and professionals as well as upcoming educational opportunities.

When: Friday, January 15th, 12 pm–7 pm
  Saturday, January 16th, 10 am–7 pm
  Sunday, January 17th, 10 am–5 pm
Where: Halls E & F at the Greater Columbus Convention Center
400 North High Street
Columbus OH 43215


End homelessness now by funding the National Housing Trust Fund

United for Homes campaign proposes modifications to the mortgage interest deduction to fund affordable housing

The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association is among the more than 2,200 national, state and local organizations and local governments who have endorsed United for Homes, a campaign organized by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) that advocates funding the National Housing Trust Fund with revenue raised from modifications to the mortgage interest deduction.

Washington Post endorses mortgage deduction changes

In a November 29 editorial titled “Fixing the most expensive tax deduction,” the Washington Post editorial board endorses NLIHC’s proposals on reforming the mortgage deduction.

The Post notes that “the mortgage interest deduction is also a significant cause of after-tax income inequality” and that “the $1 million cap could be lowered to a still-generous $500,000 without affecting the vast majority of home buyers.”

The editorial also says, “Replacing [the deduction] with a 15 percent tax credit would save $213 billion — and better target homeownership support to buyers of modest means.”

The National Housing Trust Fund expands the housing supply for the lowest income and most vulnerable people in our country by preserving, rehabilitating and maintaining affordable rental housing. Yet with its current resources the Fund cannot meet demand. For every 100 extremely low income renter households in the United States, there are only 30 affordable and available units, and the shortage keeps getting worse.

United for Homes proposes two simple and smart changes to the mortgage interest deduction:

  1. Reduce the amount of a mortgage eligible for a tax break from $1,000,000 to $500,000.
  2. Convert the mortgage deduction to a 15% non-refundable tax credit.

Not only would these changes create almost $230 billion in revenue over ten years that could be used to fund the National Housing Trust Fund, but they would also enable more homeowners to get a tax break. Currently only taxpayers who file itemized tax returns get the mortgage deduction (about 24% of all taxpayers). By implementing these changes another 16 million taxpayers would a mortgage credit without having to use the more complicated tax form.

Americans want a fairer tax code, and Americans want to end homelessness. We encourage you to visit UnitedForHomes.org to learn about the campaign, in particular about H.R. 1662, the Common Sense Housing Investment Act of 2015.

 

Transportation workshop will explain ADA rights and responsibilities

Tuesday, December 1 — 6:30pm–8:00pm

Center for Disability Empowerment logoThe Center for Disability Empowerment (CDE) is providing an advocacy workshop for any person with any disability as well as for friends and family about the rights provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) related to accessible transportation. The workshop will be held Tuesday, December 1st from 6:30pm–8:00pm at the Worthington Public Library, 820 High Street, Worthington.


Download a flyer for the workshop (PDF)

The workshop will teach you:

  • Your rights under federal law related to access to transportation as a person with a disability
  • The responsibilities under federal law of transportation providers
  • Effective strategies for advocating for your rights yourself
  • When it’s appropriate to file a complaint as well as how and with whom to file it
  • Who else in the larger community shares your concerns and challenges

COFHA’s Fair Housing Specialist, Thom Curnutte, will talk briefly during the workshop about the intersection of transportation and housing and in particular about how the ADA and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) apply.

To register for this workshop, contact CDE by calling 614-575-8055 or emailing mortland.cde@gmail.com.

If you require an accommodation (sign language interpretation, captioning, notetaking, materials in an alternate format, etc.), please let CDE know by November 24 to give them adequate time to prepare.

 

207 groups call on House and Senate leaders to reject
anti-fair housing riders in FY2016 funding bill

September 14, 2015 — Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance delivered a letter signed by over 200 local, state, and national organizations, public officials, and businesses addressed to House and Senate leaders urging them to reject any policy riders that strip local fair housing organizations and the federal government of the resources and tools they need to protect Americans from housing discrimination.


Read the letter.

In June, the House of Representatives approved Fiscal Year 2016 spending bills for the Department of Justice (CJS) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) that:

  • Eliminate Private Enforcement Initiative grants under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, the only dedicated federal funding for private nonprofit fair housing organizations to conduct local enforcement of the Fair Housing Act.
  • Prohibit HUD from implementing and enforcing its recently released Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which provides much-needed guidance and data to local and state governments on how to meet their existing responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.
  • Prohibit HUD and DOJ from enforcing HUD’s Discriminatory Effects rule, which provides a unified legal standard for how to bring and defend against complaints against unjustified housing policies and practices that have discriminatory consequences.

“These policy riders make no sense and they strike at the heart of America’s civil rights enforcement infrastructure. Private nonprofit fair housing organizations use FHIP grants to investigate nearly 70% of all reported complaints of housing discrimination nationwide, and their investigations and testing result in filtering out meritless complaints that only clog up the administrative complaint process” said Shana Smith, President & CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance.

“HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule is nothing new, and it actually provides local and state governments with the guidance and data they need to help them create opportunities in their communities by removing barriers to fair housing choice — this is an existing requirement under the Fair Housing Act. HUD’s Discriminatory Effects rule implements a legal standard of bringing fair housing complaints that has been in use for decades, and that the Supreme Court just upheld.”

“The American people stand to lose the most if these riders are to become law. Congress should do away with these and other ideological riders with a clean Continuing Resolution and instead focus on removing the budget caps set by the Budget Control Act of 2011,” said Smith.

Download a brief fact sheet about anti-fair housing amendments that were adopted by the House of Representatives.

 

Fair housing organizations file suit alleging violations of Fair Housing Act
at multiple Preferred Living developments

August 20, 2015 — The Miami Valley Fair Housing Center (MVFHC) and the Central Fair Housing Association (COFHA) have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the architects, developers, builders, managers, and owners of five multifamily apartment complexes in metropolitan Columbus violated and continue to violate the accessibility requirements of the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA). The suit, which was filed yesterday, alleges that Preferred Living Real Estate Investments, LLC and several affiliated companies have engaged in a continuous pattern or practice of discrimination against people with disabilities in violation of the FHAA.

The defendants in the case, all of which are Ohio corporations, include Preferred Living Real Estate Investments, LLC; Preferred Living Real Estate Investments II, LLC; Preferred Living Real Estate Investments, Inc.; David L. Betz Architect, Inc.; Johnathan Barnes Architecture and Design, Ltd.; Andover Park, LLC; Taylor House LLC; Alexander Square LLC, Palmer Square, LLC; Clifton Park, LLC; and Andover Park II, LLC.

Preferred Living has been developing and managing rental communities in Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding area since 1996. The company currently lists 12 different apartment communities where apartments are available, and additional three communities that are listed as “coming soon” on the Preferred Living website.

In July 2014, MVFHC and COFHA became aware that the multifamily housing complexes designed and/or constructed by Preferred Living did not include the elements of accessible and adaptable design required by the FHAA. The fair housing organizations subsequently initiated an investigation of the properties including site inspections, preliminary measurements, and evaluations by two independent experts.

The investigation identified multiple FHAA design and construction violations at each property. Some of the violations revealed by the investigation include ground floor units that are without an accessible route to common-use amenities and clubhouses/leasing offices that have several steps up to the elevated building entrance landing. Other violations identified in the lawsuit include closet doors within units that are insufficiently wide to allow use by people in wheelchairs, and light switches, electrical outlets and/or environmental controls that are beyond the reach ranges specified by the FHAA.

The lawsuit alleges that Preferred Living and other defendants discriminated in the rental of, or otherwise made unavailable or denied, dwellings to persons because of their disabilities; discriminated against persons because of their disabilities in the terms, conditions or privileges of rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with the rental of a dwelling, and failed to design and construct dwellings in compliance with the requirements mandated by the FHAA and applicable regulations.

The complaint further alleges that both MVFHC and COFHA have been directly and substantially injured by the violations through a diversion of resources for the organizations and frustration of the organizations’ missions.

The suit asks the court to declare that Preferred Living and other defendants have violated the federal Fair Housing Act and seeks a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from failing or refusing to:

  • bring the covered dwelling units and public and common use areas into compliance with the FHAA;
  • design or construct any covered multifamily dwellings in the future in compliance with the FHAA;
  • and make appropriate retrofits to all covered properties in order to bring them into compliance.

The lawsuit also seeks compensatory and punitive damages for both Miami Valley Fair Housing Center and Central Ohio Fair Housing Association, plus all attorney fees, costs, and expenses.

Stephen M. Dane, Ryan C. Downer, and Tara Ramchandani of Relman, Dane & Colfax, PLLC, a Washington, DC-based civil rights law firm are representing the plaintiffs.


Central Ohio Fair Housing Association applauds new fair housing rule

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation will empower
local jurisdictions to identify and remove barriers to fair housing

July 8, 2015 — An important new fair housing regulation — aimed at promoting diverse, inclusive communities and overcoming the negative effects of segregation — was issued today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The regulation is designed to guide jurisdictions in complying with their existing obligations to “affirmatively further fair housing,” a key provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. It requires state and local governments and housing authorities to consider how to eliminate fair housing barriers for people of color, families with children and people with disabilities.

For the first time, HUD will provide substantial data on housing, demographics and other local conditions for state and local policymakers to assess in determining, among other things, the degree of segregation, concentrated poverty and barriers to equal housing opportunity in their communities.

“Columbus and the rest of the United States remain highly segregated, although we have made some progress,” said Jim McCarthy, President/CEO of the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association. “Maps of major cities illustrate how segregated our communities are. At the same time, where you live has a big impact on how your life unfolds. It determines the schools your children attend, the jobs you have access to, the quality of your surroundings, your access to transportation and grocery stores and other important community resources. In the Columbus area, too many children are growing up in neighborhoods that lack these resources. This not only limits the life prospects of these children but also undermines our region’s prosperity.”

“This new HUD rule will help all jurisdictions in Central Ohio to be more deliberate and strategic about how they use their housing and community development resources to expand access to opportunity for all residents of our community,” McCarthy added. “We look forward to working with local policymakers, to ensure that all people — regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, family status or disability — can chose where to live and to ensure that all neighborhoods are good places to live.”

 

COFHA congratulates Keenya J. Robertson on selection as NFHA board chair

June 29, 2015 — We at the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association offer our congratulations to Keenya J. Robertson, President/CEO of Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, Inc. (HOPE), Keenya Robertson as the chair of the board of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA).

Ms. Robertson has been an advocate for fair housing and civil rights since 1994. In addition to working at HOPE—a private non-profit fair housing organization fighting housing discrimination in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in Florida—and in addition to serving on NFHA’s board, Ms. Robertson serves on the South Florida Community Development Coalition’s board, the Fair Housing/Fair Lending Litigation Reporter’s advisory board, the City of Miami Gardens Affordable Housing Committee, and the Miami-Dade County Housing Civil Rights Oversight Board.

Prior to her tenure at HOPE, Ms. Robertson was a staff attorney for the Georgia Advocacy Office’s Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights program, and she was the Project Director and Attorney for Metro Fair Housing Services in Atlanta. She is a graduate of Florida State University and the Louisiana State University Law Center.

Ms. Robertson succeeds COFHA President/CEO Jim McCarthy who just completed his nineth term as NFHA board chair. Mr. McCarthy, who will continue to serve on NFHA’s board as immediate past chair, said, “Keenya is a woman dedicated to protecting the rights of everyone to have equal housing opportunity. She’s proven her effectiveness, and I look forward to continuing to work with her as she leads NFHA forward.”

 

Brown calls for investigation of racial discrimination in management of foreclosed homes

Senator urges federal regulators to examine reports of unequal treatment of properties in Dayton and other communities nationwide

June 23, 2015 — Today U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)—ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs—called on federal
Read the senators’ letter.
regulators to investigate reports of disparities between the way financial institutions manage and market foreclosed homes in communities of color compared to predominantly-white neighborhoods.

Brown joined more than a dozen senators in a letter urging the nation’s top financial, housing, and consumer protection regulators to examine allegations that bank-owned properties in white neighborhoods are better maintained and marketed than those in African-American and Latino neighborhoods. In the letter, the senators ask the regulators to take appropriate actions to stop any unequal treatment and violations of the Fair Housing Act.

“The same communities of color who were victimized by predatory lending may now be facing the double whammy of racial bias when it comes to the upkeep of foreclosed homes,” said Brown. “This is a problem that pushes down property values and erodes the quality of life in these communities. Federal agencies should ensure that the financial institutions managing these foreclosed properties use the same maintenance and marketing standards regardless of the race, color, or ethnicity of the homeowners who live in the neighborhood.”

The senators pointed to a report by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) detailing racial disparities in the upkeep and marketing of more than 2,400 Real Estate Owned (REO) homes—that is, bank-owned foreclosed properties—in 29 major metropolitan areas nationwide. Among other discrepancies, NFHA found that bank-owned properties in minority communities in the Dayton area were 2.9 times more likely to have utilities that were exposed or tampered with than properties in comparable, predominantly-white communities.

 

Learn what protections you have against LGBT discrimination

Although neither the federal Fair Housing Act nor Ohio’s state fair housing law include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, some local jurisdictions, including Columbus, do protect sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and other areas. Also, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers guidance as to how the Fair Housing Act’s protections for disability and sex may cover some situations faced by LGBT people. Finally, HUD has included LGBT protections in some of its regulations.

For more information, visit our new LGBT info page to get specifics about local jurisdictions’ non-discrimination ordinances and about the Fair Housing Act and HUD rules may protect you.

 

Twenty civil rights groups file housing discrimination complaint against Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae fails to maintain its foreclosed homes in communities of color in Columbus and across the United States

May 13, 2015 — Today twenty private fair housing organizations across the United States, led by the National Fair Housing Alliance, accused the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) of racial discrimination. In a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) the civil rights groups allege that Fannie Mae fails to maintain and market bank-owned foreclosures (also known as real estate owned or REO properties) in African American and Latino neighborhoods to the same standard as in White neighborhoods, a practice that violates the federal Fair Housing Act.

“Fannie Mae was put on notice in 2009 about its failure to appropriately maintain and market its foreclosures in neighborhoods of color,” said Jim McCarthy, COFHA’s President/CEO. “The foreclosure crisis hit these middle and working class communities the hardest, and what we’re now seeing is an illegal pattern of neglect that creates health and safety hazards for neighbors, lowers property values, and contributes to blight in the community.”

McCarthy was one of several advocates from across the country who traveled to Washington, DC today to participate in the national news conference, held at the National Press Club, to announce the complaint.

The fair housing organizations investigated the maintenance and marketing of bank-owned foreclosures for 39 different types of deficiencies, including: broken windows and doors, broken and obstructed gutters and downspouts, accumulated trash, overgrown lawns and shrubs, missing “for sale” signs, and other issues that affect curb appeal, the security of the home, and the value of the property.

“Fannie Mae is liable for the differences in treatment between white neighborhoods and Latino and African American neighborhoods,” said Shanna Smith, President/CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), based in Washington, DC. “Despite NFHA’s efforts since 2009, including filing complaints against Fannie’s Field Service Vendors, we’ve seen no improvement in the maintenance and marketing of these Fannie Mae properties,” Smith continued. “Instead, Fannie Mae rewarded the same vendors who were failing to appropriately maintain and market properties with additional contracts and new contracts for clear boarding.”

REO properties in communities of color were far more likely to have certain types of deficiencies or problems than REO properties in White communities. Nationally, COFHA and its partners found significant racial disparities in the majority of the objective factors measured in their investigations:

  • 63.0% of the REO properties in communities of color had overgrown or dead shrubbery, while only 43.2% of the REO properties in White communities had the same problem.
  • 59.3% of the REO properties in communities of color had between 10% and 50% of the property covered in invasive plants, while only 31.8% of the REO properties in White communities had the same problem.
  • 63.0% of the REO properties in communities of color had a broken, boarded, or unsecured window, while only 15.9% of the REO properties in White communities had the same problem.
  • 70.4% of the REO properties in communities of color had peeling or chipped paint, while only 40.9% of the REO properties in White communities had the same problem.
  • 51.9% of the REO properties in communities of color had missing or out of place gutters, while only 18.2% of the REO properties in White communities had the same problem.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status, as well as on the race or national origin of residents of a neighborhood. This law applies to housing and housing-related activities, which include the maintenance, appraisal, listing, marketing, and selling of homes.

“We want to stop the downward spiral that middle and working class neighborhoods of color are caught in,” said McCarthy. “Not only do we want Fannie Mae to improve and appropriately maintain and market their REO properties, but we also want money from Fannie Mae to begin to stabilize these communities and rectify some of the damage caused by Fannie Mae’s failures. We want to use money to provide grants and other support to people buying REOs or other homes in neighborhoods, building more diverse and inclusive communities.”

More information about the complaint against Fannie Mae can be found in this Columbus Dispatch article.

 

HUD Assistant Secretary Gustavo Velasquez speaks against SB 134

SB 134 would force landlords and tenants to more expensive channels to process discrimination complaints

May 6, 2015 — Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, spoke yesterday at the Ohio Statehouse about the problems that proposed Senate Bill 134 would present to fair housing in Ohio.

The assistant secretary, speaking to the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission on Hispanic Legislative Day, warned that the changes proposed in SB 134 “could undermine our efforts to protect the housing rights of all Ohio residents.”

Fight SB134/HB149 Assistant Secretary Velasquez said, “The senator who sponsored the bill claims that SB 134 and now its companion bill HB 149 would conform Ohio fair housing laws to federal standards.”

“But the fact of the matter,” continued Assistant Secretary Velasquez, “is that limiting certain civil penalties, allowing respondents to recover attorneys’ fees in certain instances, and exempting certain landlords from the housing provisions of the Ohio civil rights law would have the opposite effect of the sponsor’s intentions, forcing landlords and tenants to more expensive and complex channels to process discrimination complaints, both administratively and in court.”

The assistant secretary urged people to look closely at SB 134 and to speak out against it.

You can view the assistant secretary’s remarks on YouTube.

Learn more about how SB 134 would hurt Ohio on the fight134.org website.

 

Cautionary Tale — It is illegal to misrepresent the availability of units!

Bronx Race Discrimination Case Settled
Landlord Agrees to Change Rental Practices and Pay $200,000

Fair Housing Justice Center
Copied with permission from
Fair Housing Justice Center
By Elizabeth Gorman

March 11, 2015 — U.S. Magistrate Debra Freeman signed an agreement resolving a housing discrimination lawsuit involving rental housing in the Woodlawn neighborhood of the Bronx. The complaint, filed in May 2014, by the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) and three African American testers alleged that J.J.A. Holding Corporation engaged in racially discriminatory rental practices. The complaint resulted from an FHJC testing investigation conducted in 2013-14. The complaint alleged, among other things, that an agent for J.J.A. Holding was misrepresenting to African American testers that no apartments were available, while showing available apartments to white testers on the same day.

As part of the injunctive relief in this case, the defendants agreed to adopt, post, and distribute a fair housing policy, require employees and agents to participate in fair housing training, ensure that available rental units are publicly advertised, and require uniform standards and procedures for showing available apartments and dispensing information about them. Under one provision of the settlement, the defendants agreed to notify tenants living in defendant buildings located in other parts of the Bronx that they may, if they choose, add their names to a waiting list in order to receive priority consideration for any apartments that come available at the rent-stabilized Woodlawn rental buildings located at 360 East 234th Street, 4300 Martha Avenue, and 4313 Kepler Avenue. The FHJC hopes that this provision will afford tenants currently residing in defendant-owned buildings that are located in predominantly minority areas with the opportunity to move to any of the defendant?s buildings located in the predominantly white Woodlawn neighborhood.

The order provides that the defendants will maintain rental records and the FHJC will be able to monitor compliance with the agreement for a period of four years. Finally, the defendants agreed to pay the plaintiffs $200,000 for damages and attorney’s fees. The plaintiffs were represented by Diane L. Houk with the law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP.

FHJC President Gene Capello commented, “This settlement represents a very favorable outcome for fair housing because it will help prevent future discrimination and open up housing opportunities and neighborhoods to populations previously excluded.” Capello added, “We also hope the results of this settlement, including the costs associated with resolving these housing discrimination complaints, will deter other housing providers from discriminating.”


Fair Housing Fundamentals class to be held Saturday, April 25

Class is free and eligible for 3 CEs for real estate agents and appraisers

March 25, 2015 — COFHA Vice President John Zimmerman will be the instructor at a Fundamentals of Fair Housing workshop to be presented Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at Homes on the Hill Community Development Corporation.

The class will cover the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, major fair housing legislation, updated fair housing regulations, and discrimination in housing markets as well as best practices for real estate agents.

There is no charge to attend the class, but if you would like CE credit, we ask that you register beforehand. For more information and to register, please go to this registration page.


Visit COFHA at the Columbus Home Improvement Show

Columbus Home Improvement Show March 12, 2015 — The Central Ohio Fair Housing Association will be exhibiting at the Columbus Home Improvement Show on March 13–15 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Stop by booth #435 in the Battelle Grand Ballroom for information about Fair Housing for consumers and professionals, as well as upcoming educational opportunities.

When: Friday, March 13th, 12 pm-7 pm
  Saturday, March 14th, 10 am-7 pm
  Sunday, March 15th, 10 am-5 pm
Where: The Battelle Grand Ballroom at the Greater Columbus Convention Center


Fair Housing Month keynote speaker
will be HUD Assistant Secretary Velasquez

Thursday, April 2, 2015 at Sinclair Conference Center in Dayton

Fostering Inclusive Communities Strengthens the Housing Market Gustavo Velasquez, the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Gustavo Velasquez will present the keynote address at Miami Valley Fair Housing Center’s annual Fair Housing Month to be held Thursday, April 2, 2015 at the Sinclair Conference Center in Dayton.

This year’s event, presented in conjunction with the Dayton Area Board of REALTORS®, will focus on the theme “Fostering Inclusive Communities Strengthens the Housing Market.” The event includes educational workshops approved for continuing education for REALTORS® and other housing professionals, followed by a luncheon and the keynote presentation.

Visit MVFHC’s 2015 Fair Housing page for more information and to register!

 

Poetry Slam champions to perform at Fair Housing Month event in Dayton

Internationally-renowned artists were winners of 2014 National Fair Housing Alliance $1K Slam

Joseph LMS Green
Joseph LMS Green
G Yamazawa
G Yamazawa
March 9, 2015 — Miami Valley Fair Housing will host two internationally-renowned spoken word artists as part of the annual Fair Housing Month celebration being held from 11:45 am to 2 pm on Thursday, April 2, 2015 at Sinclair Conference Center in Dayton. The spoken word artists will perform after the luncheon meal.

Both performers—G Yamazawa and Joseph LMS Green—were winners of the first-ever National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) 1K Poetry Slam, held last April in Washington DC. G Yamazawa was the first place winner, and Joseph LMS Green won second place. Both G and Joseph LMS will be performing the pieces with which they won the NFHA event.

Gustavo Velasquez, the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be the keynote speaker at the event. Buy tickets for the luncheon event by registering on MVFHC’s Fair Housing Month page.

About G Yamazawa

Born in Durham, NC and raised by Japanese immigrants, George Masao Yamazawa, Jr. is widely considered one of the top young spoken word artists in the country. At 24 years old, G is the youngest poet to become a National Poetry Slam Champion, Individual World Poetry Slam Finalist, and Southern Fried Champion, and he has toured in over 40 American cities and 5 European countries.

Winner of Kollaboration DC 2012, Audience Choice Award Recipient of the Inaugural Kollaboration Star and 2013 Kundiman Fellow, G has been featured at the Sundance Film Festival, Bonnaroo Music Festival, TV One's Season 3 of Verses and Flow, the Pentagon, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. G’s poetry has been published in Beltway Quarterly, Asian Fortune Magazine, and 27 Views of Durham, and he has shared stages with Sonia Sanchez, Michelle Kwan, Danny Glover, and VP Joe Biden.

About Joseph LMS Green

Joseph LMS Green is a Washington, DC-based performance artist and educator with more than nine years’ professional experience. As a solo artist Joseph LMS has performed at venues and schools throughout the United States. A four-time qualifier and participant in the National Poetry Slam, he has represented the Oneonta Slam team as their Grand Slam Champion (twice, 2005 and 2006), as well as Slam Richmond (2009), and DC’s Beltway Poetry Slam Team (2011, ranked 5th in the nation). As the Beltway Poetry Slam representative at the Individual World Poetry Slam (2011), Joseph is currently the 16th-ranked poet in the world.


Romney and disparate impact

January 9, 2015 — If hearing the name “Romney” makes you think of the 2012 Republican nominee for president, perhaps you don’t remember that Mitt’s father George Romney was HUD secretary during President Nixon’s administration.

In 1974 HUD Secretary Romney was party to a case against the city of Black Jack, Missouri, which relied on a federal rule stating that a disparate impact claim of action existed under the Fair Housing Act. United States v. City of Black Jack was appealed in the Eight Circuit, and that circuit and ten other federal circuits have agreed that disparate impact is covered under the Fair Housing Act.

In the article “Romney was Right About Disparate Impact” on SCOTUSblog, Myron Orfield, professor of law and director of the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity at the University of Minnesota, explains George Romney’s and the Nixon HUD department’s position on disparate impact. Orfield also gives more about the history and importance of disparate impact in fair housing and explains why the Supreme Court should and, he thinks, will uphold it.

Read the whole article on SCOTUSblog.

 

National property management company
accused of discrimination

Testing shows systemic discrimination by TGM Associates against families with children

November 12, 2014 — The Miami Valley Fair Housing Center (MVFHC), the Connecticut Fair Housing Center (CFHC), and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) announced that they have filed a fair housing complaint against TGM Associates, a New York-based property management company that owns and operates apartment complexes throughout the United States. The groups allege that TGM has engaged in systemic discrimination against families with children across five properties evaluated in three states.

“It’s been over 20 years since the federal Fair Housing Act was amended to protect families from discrimination,” said Amy Nelson, FHCCI’s executive director. “It’s disappointing and frustrating that we still find housing providers enacting written policies to prevent families with children from enjoying their right to equal housing.”

In the filed complaint, TGM Associates is alleged to have a stated occupancy standard of no more than two people per bedroom in each apartment, regardless of the unit’s square footage or whether that unit has a den, office, loft, or other feature that could provide an additional bedroom or living area for a child. TGM enforces this policy without regard to local health codes that state the square footage required for each occupant. In every property evaluated by the fair housing groups, TGM was found to have denied housing to families with children despite the apartments having ample square footage allowed by local codes for the family size.

MVFHC, CFHC, and FHCCI conducted a joint systemic investigation into the five TGM properties located in their respective states. The complaint alleges that every apartment complex that was evaluated was found to have unlawfully refused to rent units to families with children. Such overly restrictive occupancy standards impact the ability of families with children to find affordable, safe housing in neighborhoods of their choice.

“Often, investigations into housing discrimination uncover subtle and difficult to detect unlawful behavior,” stated Erin Kemple, CFHC’s executive director. “Each test performed at a TGM property, however, ended in a clear and blatant statement from an employee that a family with children was not permitted to rent the unit that they had inquired about. This is not only unacceptable; it’s illegal.”

The properties named in the complaint are TGM Waterford Commons in Manchester, Connecticut; TGM Avalon Lake, TGM Shadeland Station, and TGM Autumn Woods in Indianapolis, Indiana; and TGM Meadow View in Columbus, Ohio.

“Where a family lives dictates the parents’ access to employment, the children’s access to good schools, and the family’s access to grocery stores, healthcare, and other vital services,” said Jim McCarthy, MVFHC’s president and CEO. “TGM Associates’ refusal to rent to families with children is a deliberate denial of their right to choose the community that best serves their needs.”

 

HUD awards $125,000 grant to COFHA

Grant will fund fair housing education in greater Columbus

October 15, 2014 — Through its Fair Housing Initiatives Program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded a $125,000 education and outreach grant to the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association. This one-year grant will run through December 2015.

This grant, the first FHIP funding for COFHA, will enable the new private fair housing agency to expand its education efforts in the Columbus MSA, focusing on the urban core. COFHA will provide education instruction people how to recognize housing discrimination and how to report it to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and/or to HUD. In addition, COFHA will provide education to housing providers on their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.

HUD has more information about the FY2014 FHIP grants on its website.


Massillon landlords agree to $850,000 settlement to resolve housing discrimination lawsuits

Case involves discrimination on the bases of race and familial status

August 25, 2014 — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Massillon, Ohio landlords John and Mary Ruth have agreed to pay $850,000 to settle lawsuits filed by DOJ and other parties alleging that the Ruths discriminated on the bases of race and familial status at properties they formerly owned in Massillon.

DOJ filed a lawsuit on October 31, 2011, alleging that the Ruths and the companies through which they manage their properties had discriminated against African Americans and families with children at Yorkshire Apartments, Thackeray Ledges and Wales Ridge—three apartment complexes in Massillon. Stark County, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and several former property managers and tenants at the complexes also filed related lawsuits raising similar allegations.

In an order issued on March 31, 2014, by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams, the court noted that 10 of Mr. Ruth’s former employees testified they were instructed to discriminate against African Americans and that other former employees testified they had been instructed to discriminate against families with children. The court ruled that DOJ had presented sufficient evidence of a pattern or practice of unlawful discrimination by the defendants for the case to go to trial.

Under the terms of the settlement, the defendants will pay:

  • $650,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to the plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, Stark County and several former residents and property managers;
  • $175,000 in damages to 11 additional former residents and employees identified by DOJ who had been harmed by the defendants’ discrimination; and
  • $25,000 in a civil penalty to the United States.

For more information, read the DOJ press release.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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