Investigating Discriminatory Housing Practices
The Center for Housing Advocacy works with clients who have experienced some kind of housing discrimination. As a part of the Center’s purpose, we want to move towards a housing market where no illegal discrimination exists. To do this, we utilize administrative and governmental agencies such as the Virginia Fair Housing Board and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to pursue claims of discrimination.
What is discrimination?
Fair Housing law describes very specific actions or inactions against individuals who are members of specific groups of persons as illegal discrimination. To be considered a violation of Fair Housing law, and thereby illegal discrimination, an individual must be a member of a protected class, and the action or inaction must have occurred because of the individual’s membership in the protected class. The eight protected classes in Virginia are race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, elderliness, and disability.
Examples of discrimination include:
A realtor tells you he or she can’t sell you this house because you are black.
A landlord will not do the repairs requested of Hispanics, but immediately repairs all problems of the white tenants.
You are told there are no apartments available when you have seen an advertisement in the paper that several are. You suspect it has to do with your accent (national origin).
You need a wheelchair ramp built into your apartment, and agree to pay the costs, but the landlord will not allow it.
What should you do?
Not all forms of discrimination are obvious; sometimes you just have a feeling that something is wrong. If you feel you’ve been treated differently BECAUSE OF your race, color, sex, national origin, religion, elderliness, familial status, or handicap – call HOME. When you call 354-0641 you will be directed to the Fair Housing Intake Coordinator who will help you sort through your situation and determine if discrimination has occurred.
Information that will be helpful to the Intake Coordinator:
What is the name of the owner/rental property/realtor?
Do you know them to treat others the same way as you have been treated?
Are others in your apartment complex of the same race/color/national origin etc.?
Do you have a written lease?
Do you know the dates of the offenses?
What to expect of an Investigation:
After you have spoken with an Intake Coordinator, your case will be discussed with the enforcement team. In some cases, more investigation will occur, which can include research and/or testing. The Intake Coordinator will be your main contact, and you will be able to call throughout the process to check on the status of your investigation.
Each complaint is very important and deserves thorough consideration. Complaints may take several weeks to develop and investigate; some may take less time, and others may take more.
At the end of the investigation, in some cases, the Intake Coordinator will assist you with filing a complaint with the Fair Housing Board. There are instances in which the result of an investigation is a court case, and there are some cases that conclude at the end of the investigation.
The Center for Housing Advocacy is committed to eliminating discrimination in housing practices. If you have any reason to feel you’ve been a victim of housing discrimination please call HOME at 354-0641.
