Opportunity Knocks On All Doors
Zero Tolerance Toward Unfair Housing Practices Is the Rule
By Jill Parker Landsman, Communications & Media Relations Director
Realtors® understand that all people have the right to live in the home of their choice that they can afford. Federal, state and local laws ensure this right is protected. Unfortunately, that right does not come with a bullet-proof guarantee.
A landlord can take an application, be kind and courteous, and yet never call that applicant. That could be an undercurrent of discrimination. Sometimes people who are denied housing do not realize that they are being discriminated against.
“Housing discrimination is not always as obvious as a bigoted remark or a slammed door,” said Mary Broz Vaughan, Director of Communications, Legislation & Consumer Education for the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. “Equally illegal are subtle, insidious and even unintentional forms of discrimination.”
Although there have been setbacks and dilemmas since the federally-mandated Fair Housing Act of 1968 was enacted, the requirement continues: it is illegal for housing providers to discriminate based on the race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status (families with or without children) of the prospective renter, purchaser or client.
A rising number of complaints are filed nationally each year through non-profit fair-housing agencies, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Justice, along with state and local agencies. Housing officials and advocates say that there are more discrimination cases than those in formal complaints.
“At the state level, the Fair Housing Board at DPOR administers and enforces the Fair Housing Law, although the Virginia Real Estate Board is responsible for fair housing cases involving real estate licensees or their employees,” explains Broz Vaughan. “Each board investigates housing discrimination through the Fair Housing Office, which receives approximately 180 complaints each year,” she says.
“The greatest number of complaints continue to allege racial discrimination; disability and familial status run a close second and third,” says Broz Vaughan.
Getting the Word Out: Fair Housing is the Law
“Awareness about fair housing law is essential,” explains Kenneth Saunders, executive director of the Fairfax County Office of Human Rights & Equity Programs. "The Fairfax County Human Rights Commission actively works to further fair housing through its enforcement, education and outreach efforts,” he says.
“ In addition to vigorously enforcing fair housing laws, the leadership at the Commission recognizes the positive role that education can play in helping to eliminate discrimination in the housing market,” Saunders states. “Consequently, agency staff members employ a variety of methods to educate housing providers, those seeking housing, current residents, and others involved in housing activities in the county about their rights and responsibilities.
“Local complaints have been on the rise. The commission, in the past three years, has seen the number of housing complaints double,” Saunders said. “The increase in complaints can be partly attributed to the state of the economy, which has led to an increase in the demand for affordable rental housing and the commission’s education and outreach efforts that have increased the public’s knowledge of their rights.” More citizens have learned how to file a complaint as a result of these campaigns.
Sexual Orientation As a Protected Class: Sometimes Yes; Sometimes No
Bias complaints and lawsuits nationwide make it clear that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people face housing discrimination, but studies have never captured how often this occurs. Under the Obama Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to begin collecting data next year.
Sexual orientation and gender identity are not protected categories under federal fair housing law, but HUD’s Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic said 80 states and localities include them in theirs. The District and Maryland include sexual orientation as a protected category; Virginia does not, however, Alexandria and Arlington do have local laws that include sexual orientation in their list of protected classes.
Fairfax County has made ongoing efforts to add sexual orientation to its protected class list, too. “Since 2002, Fairfax County has proposed legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that would allow it to add sexual orientation as a protected class under its human rights ordinance and as prohibited discrimination in the county,” Saunders explains.
Role of Real Estate Professionals is Key
Real estate practitioners need to detect all abuses and practice a zero-tolerance level for unfair treatment. Realtors® learn this in their first ethics and orientation classes.
“We have to be ever vigilant and not allow a seller or landlord to draw us into a conversation that may violate fair housing,” says NVAR instructor Dan Daniels. “By simply answering a question such as ‘is the person black?’ or ‘what is the sexual orientation of the buyer or tenant?’ we have stepped over the line. At that point we are violating fair housing.”
Knowing how to respond to leading questions is essential, explains Daniels. “When asked any question that may possibly violate fair housing, our response should be: ‘We cannot discuss that because it violates fair housing.’ We can also educate our clients about fair housing and the protected classes that are covered in the county where the property is located.”
Unintentional fair housing missteps happen, with a price. “One of my agents got in trouble,” explains an NVAR broker. “He was the listing agent of an Arlington house that was for rent or for sale. An engaged couple came to see the house.”
They were expecting a baby and already had four children ranging from four years to late teens, the broker explains. After meeting the owner while touring the home, the couple applied to rent it right there. The owner said she would respond after her vacation.
During that time, another couple with only one child also applied to rent it. For “wear and tear purposes,” the owner chose the second couple with one child. After the listing agent shared that reason for denial with the first couple, they filed a fair housing complaint. The listing Realtor® was fined $160,000. (See article on page __ for other enforcement examples.)
“You have to treat all parties honestly,” the broker says. “Pick your clients carefully and have conversations in advance about fairness scenarios. Answer the questions in a manner that is appropriate. If you do not like what you hear, then don’t take them on as clients.”
It takes more than a village to banish discrimination. Agents should never be enablers during any aspect of the sales or rental transaction. All real estate practitioners should be fair housing role models and help put an end to these illegal practices.
Side Bars
Virginia's Fair Housing Law:
Summary of Protected Classes
Virginia's Fair Housing Law makes it illegal to discriminate in residential housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or disability. In addition, the law prohibits applying one standard to one class of individuals while applying a different standard to another class of individuals. For example, it would be illegal to ask a disabled individual applying for an apartment to provide a credit report if non-disabled applicants did not have to provide one.
Virginia's Fair Housing Law applies to: rental transactions – trying to rent an apartment or house; sales transactions – trying to purchase a home; financing transactions – trying to obtain a mortgage; insurance transactions – trying to obtain homeowners or rental insurance; and advertising transactions – how individuals, companies and newspapers advertise about rental vacancies or homes for sale.
Non-protected classes
Several groups are not protected under either the state or federal fair housing law. For example, students and smokers are not protected. Income status, sexual orientation, marital status (that is unmarried couples) and age are not protected groups either. However, these classes may be protected under a local ordinance. For example, marital status is a protected class in Fairfax County. Therefore before drafting a fair housing policy, a housing provider should determine if local ordinances protect certain classes that are not protected by the state or federal law.
Source: Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations (DPOR)
Virginia Fair Housing Cases from DPOR
Northern Virginia
Alleged Violation/Protected Class:
Reasonable accommodation/Handicap (physical disability)
Complaint Summary:
Complainant alleges Respondents failed to enforce apartment policy governing handicapped parking spaces, by allowing non-disabled tenants to park in his assigned handicapped parking space. Complainant provided medical documentation to acquire an assigned handicapped parking space, but alleges that Respondents were argumentative or non-responsive in enforcing his right to use the space.
Terms of Conciliation Agreement:
– Respondent Principal Broker shall pay Complainant $1,000
– Respondents agree to continue fair housing training program already in place for employees
– Affirmative relief (display fair housing information for general public)
Southwest
Alleged Violation/Protected Class:
Different terms and conditions/Race (interracial couple)
Sexual harassment/Sex (female)
Complaint Summary:
Complainants allege Property Manager used “N-word,” doubled rent after learning of Complainants’ race, and made sexual advances toward female Complainant. Respondent property owner was a licensed Real Estate Broker, but the subject property was not rented under his firm. Broker/owner used only verbal agreements with tenants and failed to provide written policy or guidance to the hired Property Manager.
Terms of Conciliation Agreement:
– Respondent Broker shall pay Complainants $1,200
– Fair housing training for Respondents (Real Estate Broker acting as Association Manager, as well as Association officers)
– Affirmative relief (display fair housing information for general public)
Are You Up To The Test?
Fair Housing Advocates Dispatch Testers To Find Out
By Margaret S. Squires, Fair Housing Coordinator, Fairfax County Human Rights Commission
Fair housing testing is a method to determine whether a home seeker is treated differently in his or her search for housing or housing related services. A person’s race or national origin, for example, would be impermissible factors upon which to base a denial of an opportunity to lease an apartment or buy a house.
The experience of testers is sometimes used to compare the treatment of one home seeker (protected class) to another (unprotected class) as determined by the information and services provided by real estate firms, property management companies and others providing housing or housing-related services.
Fair housing tests are performed for a variety of reasons, including audits, self-tests and complaint-related tests. A fair housing organization might conduct an audit to determine if any and what types of discrimination are occurring and use the information to raise awareness about the problem. The agency would then target and develop training materials accordingly.
Similarly, a management company concerned that its leasing agents abide by fair housing laws might arrange for its properties to be self-tested to determine if its employees are complying with fair housing laws. This determines if additional fair housing training is needed. Complaint-related testing is used to corroborate or challenge charges of discrimination.
When applied judiciously, fair housing testing can be a valuable tool for organizations tasked with helping to eliminate housing discrimination through education and outreach efforts and enforcement of fair housing laws. It can also provide important information to help housing providers and others understand the issues, ensure compliance with fair housing laws, and limit their exposure to fair housing complaints.