About Us

 

Fair Housing Coach

Fair Housing Coach is a monthly single-topic newsletter that landlords and property managers can use to train their staffs so that they remain in compliance with federal fair housing laws and avoid costly discrimination suits. It also provides training on state and local fair housing laws, as well as any other law that might intersect with fair housing. Each issue contains a Coach’s Quiz, along with answers and plain-English explanations.

Fair Housing Quick Facts:

  • The Fair Housing Act was adopted in 1968 and amended in 1988.
  • The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status (i.e., families with children), or disability. In addition to these seven protected characteristics, state and local governments have added others, including: age, military status, source of income (Section 8), and sexual orientation.
  • As of April 2011, 20 states and over 200 local governments have adopted laws that make LGBT-related housing discrimination illegal. In January 2011, HUD proposed a regulation banning discrimination based on LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) status.
  • Disability discrimination accounts for the most common source of complaints to federal, state, and local fair housing agencies. According to the most recent HUD statistics, 44 percent of the 10,000-plus complaints filed nationally in 2009 were based on disability.
  • 98 fair housing organizations and other nonprofit agencies from across the country share $26.3 million in federal funding--$21.1 million of which is earmarked for private enforcement grants to help groups investigate alleged housing discrimination.

 

For more information, go to: www.hud.gov; www.nationalfairhousing.org; or contact the editors of Fair Housing Coach at fairhousingcoach@gmail.com.