Small Town News

Fair Housing Program fights for housing rights

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Community learns about cUscrimination

Forty years after the Fair Housing Act was enacted, the nonprofit Community Legal Aid Society Inc. still works to eliminate discrimination and promote fair housing in Delaware.

The society's Fair Housing Program sponsored an informational housing event April 29 in (?Nfcrgetown, attended by local Realtors and members of other nonprofit agencies.

The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. In addition to these protected classes, Delaware's Fair Housing Act also prohibits discrimination based on creed, marital status, age and sexual orientation

"This is America," said Rashmi Raigan. "This is 2011. If I want to live in a certain place, how much I bring home should be the only barrier. That is what fair housing is all about."

Rangan, executive director of Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council Inc., said Sussex County's biggest fair-housing issue is exploitation of Latinos and immigrant populations. She said anyone may suffer discrimination.

Rangan said people uneducat-ecfabout the Fair Housing Act

use misguided logic to steer clients toward certain areas. It is wrong to assume a minority person wants to be near similar ethnic groups or a physically handicapped person wants a ground-floor apartment, she said.

Realtors must not direct people toward certain ethnic neighborhoods, even if requested. People may live anywhere, but actively steering clients can perpetuate racial segregation, Rangan said.

Society fair housing attorney Melissa Alman said when minorities are concentrated in certain areas, they become sitting ducks for practices such as payday loans and adjustable-rate mortgages that balloon out of control.

This does not mean landlords must rent to every applicant.

"Somebody not liking you is not a protected class," Alman said.

The Fair Housing Act does not protect people based on credit scores or immigration status. Landlords may refuse based on such factors, as long as every applicant is held to the same standard.

The society investigates discrimination that takes place under the guise of another restriction

Discriminatory advertisements in the newspaper or other media sources are illegal because commercial speech is restricted.

"Do not describe the people you want," Alman said. "Describe the property."

Discrimination can also occur in unfair housing appraisals,

higher security deposits or mortgages with predatory interest rates.

Disability discrimination has become a big issue in Delaware, officials said.

Disabled persons may request reasonable accommodations or modifications, such as having an

animal in a facilit y that bans pets or the addition of an outdoor ramp.

Under the lav, the disability must be provab e, and the accommodation n ust be reasonable and necessary for a person to enjoy his dwel ing.

Landlords must make accommodations and cannot impose additional charges or conditions for the service. They may sue for any breach of contract, but they may not discriminate. If a disability is not apparent, landlords may request supporting docu mentation.

A landlord may refuse fundamental alterations that are not part of his business service. He may also prove how his budget forbids the accommodation.

Officials also said private or small-scale landlords who do not receive federal funding have more freedom in accommodating requests or in selecting tenants.

The legal aid society sends people into the field to test different agencies for discrimination, Alman said. Some test visits are random, others are complaint-based, and some are based on off-the-record accounts. This ranges from checking newspaper listings to having protected-class people pose as potential buyers.

Whether people are obviously victimized or just have a hunch, they can contact the society's Fair Housing Program.

"Raise the issue, and let the FHP find the proof," said Rangan.

Some people are openly discriminatory, although most people hide it well, she said.

"Just because we can't prove the discrimination doesn't mean it didn't happen," Alman said. "And just because it happened that doesn't mean we can prove it-People must show that discrimination occurred and how it was directed specifically toward a protected class. If the complaint is legitimate, the legal aid society will assist in negotiations or proceed with legal action.

The society continues to promote fair housing by ensuring people have the broadest choice possible, both Rangan and Alman said.

It aims to identify problems and eliminate barriers that segregate people. This nonprofit law firm provides services to victims of discrimination, at no cost to elderly, disabled or low-income Delawareans.

To contact the Community Legal Aid Society Inc., call 1-800 292-7980 and ask for the Fair Housing Program. Additional information is available at www.declasi.org/index.php/fair-housing-program.





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