Protecting Your Rights: What You Need to Know about Fair Housing Laws

Protecting Your Rights: What You Need to Know about Fair Housing Laws SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

TheSouth Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center is dedicated to advocacy for low- income people in South Carolina to effect systemic change by acting in and through the courts, legislature, administrative agencies, community and the media, and helping others do the same through education, training and co-counseling. To find out more about SCALJC, go to http://www.scjustice.org on the Internet. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Mission • The goal of this presentation is to teach you general information about your rights under Fair Housing laws. • Because of time constraints, only the major points of the laws will be addressed. • At the end of this presentation, you should have a better understanding about the laws that protect you from housing discrimination and what to do if you think your rights have been violated. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Disclaimer • This overview of Fair Housing law is for informational purposes only.It is notmeant to address a specific legal problem. • If you have specific questions about a housing problem, you should contact a lawyer of your choice to get help. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What Is the Fair Housing Act? • The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) was made a law by Congress on April 11, 1968. • It was part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. • After the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress to pass the law. In the years before King’s death, the law had been considered but did not have enough support to pass. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What Is the Fair Housing Act? • The 1968 Fair Housing Act made it illegal to discriminate against people in most types of housing transactions because of their race, color, religion, or national origin. • In 1974, gender was added to the list. • In 1988, disability and familial status were added to the list (in the Fair Housing Amendments Act) SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What groups of people does the Fair Housing Act protect now? • The FHA now protects people from being discriminated against in housing because of their • Race • Color • Religion • Gender • National Origin • Disability • Familial status SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What is National Origin? • National origin means where someone was born, or where their parents, grandparents, etc. were born. • It may be hard to tell where a person was born, but there may be signs of his or her national origin, like an accent, that can lead to discrimination. The FHA makes it illegal to discriminate in housing for that reason. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What is Familial Status? • In general, familial status means whether or not there is a child under 18 in the household. • It can also mean whether someone is pregnant, or getting legal custody or already has legal custody of one or more children under 18. • Example: It would be illegal under the FHA to refuse to rent to someone just because he has legal custody of his grandchild who is 16. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What is Familial Status? • The FHA makes it illegal for most housing providers to refuse to rent or sell housing to people because of their familial status. Exception: Some housing is set aside by the government as “Housing for Older Persons” or “Senior Housing”. Special rules have to be met for housing to use this exception to the FHA. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What counts as a disability under the FHA? • Under the FHA, a disability is a physical or mental problem that largely limits one or more of a person’s major life activities • Having a record of such a problem or being regarded as having such a problem is also in the definition • If a person has a record of having a disability in the past, that past disability cannot be used against them to keep them out of housing SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Some examples of disabilities under the FHA are having a mental illness, a learning disability, past drug addiction, alcoholism, having a disease like HIV or AIDS, blindness, or having a hearing problem. The current use of illegal drugs is not covered under the FHA. What counts as a disability under the FHA? SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What counts as a disability under the FHA? • Landlords can refuse to rent to people who have been convicted in court of selling or making drugs. • Landlords can also refuse to rent to a person who is a direct threat to someone’s health or safety, or to someone who would substantially damage the landlord’s property or the property of others. • In order to prove this in court, the landlord has to have recent evidence to back up this claim. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What types of actions are illegal under the FHA? We have learned that the FHA makes it illegal to discriminate in housing because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or familial status. But what does this really mean? SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status: • Refuse to rent or sell housing • Refuse to negotiate on housing • Deny someone a unit • Example: Putting all people of one race in one part of a building • Make different rules for renting or selling housing • Example: Making a man pay a smaller rental deposit than a woman SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status: (continued) • Give different housing services or facilities • Example: Havingpools for one race only • Claim that housing is not for rent or sale when it actually is • This includes not allowing inspection of the unit • Convince someone else, for profit, not to sell or rent a unit • Deny someone membership in a facility or service that comes with the house • Example: Refusing to list a unit in a multiple listing service SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status: (continued) • Refuse to make a mortgage loan • Example: Making loans to one race only • Refuse to give information on loans • Example: Refusing to give loan information to someone with an accent • Make different rules about a loan • Example: Different interest rates or fees for one race over another SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

This means that the FHA makes it illegal to do the following because of someone’s race, color, religion, national origin gender, disability, or familial status: (continued) • Discriminate in appraising the value of property • Refuse to purchase a loan • Set different rules for purchasing a loan SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

It is also illegal under the FHA to: • Threaten or try to force or scare someone who is protecting his or her rights under the Fair Housing Act • Make a statement or place an ad (in writing or by phone) that lists a preference for a renter or buyer of property based on their race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or familial status SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Examples of Discriminatory Advertisement Ads that use certain words to limit the type of renter/buyer the person is looking for, such as: • Using the words “No Men” or “Christians only” in an ad to rent an apartment • Using the words “No immigrants” or “Couples only” in an ad to sell a house SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Examples of Discriminatory Advertisement Ads that would keep certain people or groups of people from renting or buying housing in an area, such as: • Using the words “Mostly Asian neighborhood” or “quiet, childless neighborhood” in an ad to sell a home • Using the words “nearly all Christian families” to rent a unit in an apartment building SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Does the FHA apply to all types of housing? • The FHA covers most types of housing. • Under the FHA, housing can be places that are rented or places that are bought. • This means that apartments, condos, houses, and mobiles homes can all be covered by the FHA. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What Housing Is NOT Covered by the FHA? There are some types of housing that are not covered by some parts of the FHA: • Buildings with no more than four units where the owner lives in one of the units • Single-family homes that are sold or rented without a broker or agent • The owner must have no more than 3 homes, must have not sold a house in the last 24 months, and does not use discriminatory advertising • Housing run by private clubs where only club members live or by religious organizations in some circumstances (very limited exceptions) SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What Housing Is NOT Covered by the FHA? Don’t Forget: Even though those types of housing are not covered by the FHA, it is still illegal to threaten others or to use discriminatory advertising to rent or sell housing. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What if I am disabled? Does the FHA give me other rights? • Yes. Under the FHA, if you or someone in your household is disabled, your landlord must let you make reasonable modifications to your unit or common areas if you need these to use the housing. • The reasonable modifications must be paid for by the disabled person or family. • If it is reasonable, your landlord can make you remove the reasonable modifications when you move. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What are reasonable modifications? • They are necessary physical changes to the housing or common areas to help a disabled person use the housing. • Some examples of reasonable modifications are: • Having a doorway widened to fit a wheelchair • Having a ramp added to a unit for a wheelchair • Having “grab bars” added to a bath tub * There are special rules for some newer buildings where these changes must already be made. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What if I am disabled? Does the FHA give me other rights? • If you or someone in your household is disabled, you also have the right to have reasonable accommodations made if it will help you to use the housing. • The cost of the reasonable accommodation is not paid for by the disabled person. • A reasonable accommodation must be necessary to help the disabled person using the housing. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What are reasonable accommodations? • Reasonable accommodations are necessary changes to a landlord’s rules or policies to help a disabled person use the housing. • Some examples of reasonable accommodations are: • Allow a seeing eye dog in a building where pets are not allowed • Making disabled parking available in front of a unit for a disabled person SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Does South Carolina have a Fair Housing Law? • Yes. South Carolina’s Fair Housing Law (found at SC Code Ann. § 31-21-10 et. seq.) is very similar to the federal law. • The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission is the agency that oversees the SC Fair Housing Law (for non-federally funded properties) SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

What can I do if I think my Fair Housing rights have been violated? • There are two main ways to protect your rights if you think you have been discriminated against in housing. You can take advantage of both of these options to better protect your rights. • File a complaint • File a lawsuit SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint • If you think you have been discriminated against in housing in violation of the federal FHA (i.e., regarding federally-funded property), you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) • HUD has a complaint form that you fill out, or you can write your own letter to HUD. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint • If you write your own letter to HUD, be sure to list • Your name and address • The name and address of the person you are complaining about • The address of the housing that you were denied or removed from • An explanation of what happened (including how you feel you were discriminated against) • The date(s) that the action occurred SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint • If you live in South Carolina, the HUD office nearest you where you can send your complaint is: Atlanta Regional Office of FHEOU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Five Points Plaza40 Marietta Street, 16th floor Atlanta, Georgia 30303-2806 • You can also call HUD with your complaint at 1-800-669-9777 or 1-800-440-8091. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint • Your complaint to HUD must be made within one year from the date that the discriminatory action happened • It is important that you keep records of any negative action taken against you, including the dates • It is important that you file your complaint on time or else you may lose some protections SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint • Because SC has its own state fair housing law, there is also a state agency that takes complaints on housing discrimination for properties that are not federally-funded • That agency is the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission • You must file your complaint with the SC Human Affairs Commission within 180 days from the date that you were discriminated against. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint • The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission can be reached at: South Carolina Human Affairs Commission Fair Housing Unit 2611 Forest Drive, Suite 200 P.O. Box 4490 Columbia, SC 29204-4490 Toll-free number: 1-800-521-0725 SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Complaint Afteryour complaint is filed, it will be investigated Remember: It is your right to file a complaint if you think you have been discriminated against in housing. In some cases, filing a complaint may help you delay in a discriminatory eviction or work out an agreement with the person who violated your rights. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Lawsuit You can also file a lawsuit against someone who has discriminated against you in housing. Depending upon whether the housing at issue is federally-funded or funded by a state or local agency, a Fair Housing Case might be filed in federal court (FHA) or state court (South Carolina Fair Housing law) SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Lawsuit • Federal FHA • The federal FHA gives you two years to file a lawsuit against the person who discriminated against you. The two years starts from the date that the discriminatory action happened. • South Carolina Fair Housing Law • The state FHA gives you one year to file a lawsuit against the person who discriminated against you. The year starts from the date that the discriminatory action happened. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Filing a Lawsuit In some cases, making an agreement during the complaint process may limit your ability to file a lawsuit. In other cases, the complaint process may be ended once you file a lawsuit. If you have a fair housing problem and think you may want to file a complaint or file a lawsuit on it, you should contact a lawyer as soon as you can to determine what course of action is best for your case. SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Other Federal Laws Available to Prevent Housing Discrimination • The Civil Rights Act of 1866 • Executive Orders 11063 / 12892 • Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Equal Credit Opportunity Act SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 • This was the first civil rights legislation passed by Congress • It was an attempt to enforce the 13th amendment, which outlawed slavery SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 • Prohibits all racial discrimination, private and public, in the sale or rental of property • Applies to state and federal entities, as well as private individuals • Could apply in situations where the Fair Housing Act does not because provides no exemptions SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Executive Order 11063 – Equal Opportunity in Housing • Signed by President Kennedy on November 21, 1962 • Prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin relating to property where the federal government is involved • Involvement includes being owned, operated, or financed in whole or part by the federal government SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Executive Order 11063 – Equal Opportunity in Housing • Has been amended to cover gender-based discrimination, discrimination against families with children, and discrimination against people with disabilities • President Clinton signed Executive Order 12892, which strengthens the federal government’s commitment to protecting against housing discrimination SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Outlaws discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance • Applies primarily to public housing SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Equal Credit Opportunity Act • Prohibits creditors, like banks, from discriminating against applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or source of income • Applies to all aspects of a credit transaction SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Additional Federal Laws Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 • Prohibits discrimination in federally-assisted community development activities SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Protecting Your Rights: What You Need to Know about Fair Housing Laws