Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 3:26 PM
FAIR HOUSING NEWS
HUD Press Release: HUD Settlement regarding California Rental Discrimination
Dear Colleague,
WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has approved a $10,000 Conciliation Agreement between a California fair housing group, CADO Real Estate Group and LCG Harrington, LLC, the agents and mortgage company for Boardwalk Townhomes in Corona, California. This agreement settles allegations that Boardwalk Townhomes discriminated against African American home seekers. Read the Agreement.
The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to impose different terms or conditions on the sale of a dwelling based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
“A person’s race should never be a factor in determining whether they have the opportunity to obtain the housing of their choice,” said Anna María Farías, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Today’s settlement represents HUD’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that individuals in positions to affect access to housing meet their obligation to comply with the Fair Housing Act.”
The case came to HUD’s attention when The Fair Housing Council of Riverside County (FHCRC), a HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program agency, filed a complaint alleging that fair housing tests it conducted showed that real estate agents for CADO Real Estate Group treated testers posing as African-American home seekers less favorably than testers posing as white home seekers. Specifically, FHCRC alleged that its tests showed that African-American testers were told that there were no homes available when there were and were required to meet tougher pre-qualification requirements than white testers. CADO Real Estate Group, LCG Harrington, LLC, and their agents deny having engaged in any discriminatory behavior.
Under the terms of the agreement, CADO Real Estate Group will pay $10,000 to FHCRC, and its agents will attend fair housing training.
People who believe they have experienced discrimination may file a complaint by contacting HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed by going to hud.gov/fair housing, or by downloading HUD's free housing discrimination mobile application, which can be accessed through Apple and Android devices.
HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also connect with HUD on social media or sign up for news alerts on HUD's Email List.
