Maryland Pride Event Celebration will be on June 6, 2024

 

Join the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights & Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs for a virtual panel discussion, as we celebrate the progress in LGBTQIA+ rights and center joy within the community.  To register, click on the image above or scan the QR code.   Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships HOME      ABOUT MCCR      SERVICES      PUBLICATIONS      EVENTS      PRESS      CONTACT US

HUD Approves Settlement with Lancaster, Pennsylvania Apartment Providers Resolving Claim of Housing Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Conciliation Agreement under the Fair Housing Act between the Metropolitan Management Corporation and Lancaster Court Associates and a family of former tenants resolves allegations that the housing providers discriminated against the family when terminating their lease because a member of the family had a second child. Under the Fair Housing Acts, it is illegal to discriminate in the sale or rental of housing based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), and familial status.

The agreement stems from a complaint alleging that Metropolitan Management Corporation and Lancaster Court Associates violated the Fair Housing Act by having an overly rigid occupancy policy that discriminated based on familial status. The complaint alleges that when a baby was born to a family of four, the landlord terminated the family’s lease for a two-bedroom unit because of their discriminatory occupancy policy.

“No tenant should be subjected to housing discrimination based on their familial status or family status as some call it” said Demetria L. McCain, Principal Deputy Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “This agreement demonstrates HUD’s commitment to enforcing the Fair Housing Act and making sure all families have access to fair and inclusive housing.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Metropolitan Management Corporation and Lancaster Court Associates will pay $70,000 to the tenants, attend fair housing training, develop an occupancy policy conforming with the Fair Housing Act, and train their staff on the new occupancy policy.

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) 877-8339 (Relay) or at hud.gov/fairhousing.

Read the April 29, 2024 HUD press release.

Evaluation of 50 Years of Exclusionary Zoning Litigation

 

Robert G. Schwemm has published in the UIC Law Review - (37:3): 390-456 - an historical review of the Arlington Heights cases and the ongoing legal barriers to address metropolitan segregation through zoning litigation. See “Reflections on Arlington Heights: Fifty Years of Exclusionary Zoning Litigation and Beyond.”

Schwemm is the Ashland-Spears Distinguished Research Professor of Law and William L. Matthews, Jr. Professor of Law at the College of Law, University of Kentucky. He also is author of the encyclopedic standard Housing Discrimination: Law and Litigation (West Group, 2001 and updated annually by Clark Boardman Callaghan).

Arlington Heights (Illinois) was an exclusionary zoning case, one of many such cases brought in the 1970s that challenged local land-use practices blocking subsidized housing projects for racial minorities who were underrepresented in the area. Passage of the FHA in 1968 stimulated more of this type of litigation. Since then, many exclusionary zoning cases have been filed, and, as the Supreme Court noted in 2015, they make up the basis of this type of FHA claim. Arlington Heights is the most important of these cases. 

In the 50 years since the case, the Village of Arlington Heights has become a more diverse and welcoming community that recently elects Democratic candidates. But residents of these type of "high-opportunity" communities have generally continued to oppose any subsidized housing projects. Exclusionary zoning remains a battleground today, as occasional FHA-based actions generally have failed - and continue to fail - to overcome more powerful social and economic forces that encourage affluent suburbs to use zoning to exclude affordable housing. 

There have been positive developments since the Arlington Heights case that could influence future desegregation. The link between where you live and your financial, social, and medical life chances has been solidly established by much research. Also, bans on “source-of-income” discrimination have been added to many state and local fair housing laws that the majority of Americans now live in jurisdictions with such a ban. Though mainly designed to guarantee voucher-holders access to more rental opportunities, these source-of-income laws have also been used to challenge exclusionary zoning.

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Source: April edition of Poverty & Race by the Poverty & Race Research Action Council 

(PRRAC).

MD Commission on Civil Rights Pride Event is June 6th

 

Join the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights & Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs for a virtual panel discussion, as we celebrate the progress in LGBTQIA+ rights and center joy within the community.  To register, click on the image above or scan the QR code.

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Maryland Hate-Bias Forum is on June 6, 2024

 

Join us at our LIVE forum that brings together law enforcement and the community to improve hate bias reporting. To register, click on the picture above or click HERE.

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HUD Charges Grapevine, Texas Housing Authority with Disability Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the Grapevine Housing Authority (“GHA”); Jane Everett, Executive Director of GHA; and Bonnie McHugh, Vice-Chair of the GHA Housing Commission, with discriminating against, and failure to provide a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. Read the charge.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on disability. This includes prohibiting housing providers from making housing unavailable to persons based on disability. The Act also requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodation when necessary for persons with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their homes.

Grapevine is located in northeast Tarrant County in the Mid-Cities suburban region between Dallas and Fort Worth and includes a larger portion of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport than other cities. The population was 50,631 (2020).

HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that the Grapevine Housing Authority, Ms. Everett, and Ms. McHugh terminated the lease of a tenant with diabetes following a medical episode caused by his blood sugar levels. They subsequently denied his reasonable accommodation request and continued eviction proceedings against him even after his doctor had provided evidence that his symptoms were managed following a change in medication and purchase of a medical alert bracelet.

A US Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If a judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, they may award damages to the complainant for his losses as a result of the discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief, to deter further discrimination, as well as payment of attorney fees. In addition, the judge may impose civil penalties to vindicate the public interest. If the federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the complainant.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY) or file a complaint here: www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint.

Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications for individuals with disabilities here. More information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

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Read the March 25, 2024 HUD release.

HUD Charges Luxury Condominium in Puerto Rico with Violating the Accessibility Requirements of the Fair Housing Act

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the architectural firm, the general contractor, and the owners for failing to design and construct Quantum Metrocenter Condominiums (“QMC”) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in accordance with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act (“Act”) based upon a complaint started by HUD. HUD has also charged some of them with failing to approve a reasonable accommodation request made by two residents due to the inaccessible design and construction features of QMC. Read the Charge. The Act requires multifamily housing built after March 1991 to have accessible features for people with disabilities. The Act also prohibits discrimination because of disability, including refusing to allow reasonable accommodations that would otherwise permit homeowners with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their housing. HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that the charged failed to include accessible building entrances on accessible routes, accessible and usable public and common use areas, usable doors in units, accessible routes in units, accessible thermostats, reinforced walls for grab bars in bathrooms, and usable kitchens and bathrooms for persons with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs, in the 80-residential unit two-tower buildings. The Charge also alleges they failed to approve a reasonable accommodation request for an accessible parking space, which would have allowed persons with disabilities to have better use of their units and the common area features of QMC, even while continuing to have to endure other inaccessible design and construction features. A US Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party elects to have the case heard in Federal district court. If the Administrative Law Judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the resident for his losses as a result of the discrimination; injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination; payment of attorney fees; and civil penalties to vindicate the public interest. If the Federal court hears the case, the Judge may also award punitive damages to the resident. To assist residential unit owners and professionals, HUD began its Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST (FIRST) initiative to promote compliance with the Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements. The program offers comprehensive and detailed instruction programs, useful online web resources, and a toll-free information line for technical guidance and support. Housing providers can learn more about the FIRST program here.  Anyone who believes they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities here and about accessibility requirements for multifamily housing here. Additional information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. ***** Source: Read the April 5, 2024 HUD press release.