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Info about Fair Housing in Maryland - including housing discrimination, hate crimes, affordable housing, disabilities, segregation, mortgage lending, & others. http://www.gbchrb.org. 443.347.3701.
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Tammy and Ramiro Estrada, the owner of a duplex in Appleton, Wisconsin, with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a tenant with a disability a reasonable accommodation to allow the tenant to live with her assistance animals.
Under the Fair Housing Act, individuals with disabilities have the right to reasonable accommodations when such accommodations are necessary to afford them equal access to their home, including the use of assistance animals. Individuals also are legally protected from coercion, intimidation, threats, or interference when they assert their fair housing rights or file a complaint with HUD.
HUD’s Charge alleges that the owners applied unlawful breed restrictions, fines, and fees to the the Complainant's accommodation request. Respondents also interfered with her attempt to obtain a service dog and threatened eviction, eventually non-renewing their lease. citing the reasonable accommodation requests in the non-renewal notice. As a result, the tenants were forced to rent more expensive housing elsewhere.
A U.S. 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 an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the family for their losses because of the discrimination. injunctive relief, 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 family.
People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice) 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications to individuals with disabilities here. Materials and assistance are available for persons with limited English proficiency. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact HUD using the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
On Thursday, July 25th, HUD's Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R) will host a hybrid PD&R Quarterly Update on source of income (SOI) discrimination and laws. Over the past 20 years, evidence of discrimination against housing choice voucher holders has grown. Over half of voucher households live in states and localities that have adopted ordinances to prevent this kind of discrimination - such as Maryland. Go to the Source of Income Protections for Housing Choice Voucher Holders website of HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing to see jurisdictions that have adopted SOI protections.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
2:00-4:00 pm ET
Hybrid Event
HUD Headquarters
451 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20410
Attending this HUD event will be researchers, municipal and state government officials, and fair housing practitioners. They will discuss recent passage of local anti-discrimination ordinances; evaluate research about the impacts of these anti-discrimination laws; and discuss challenges to the enforcement of these ordinances.
Data Spotlight - Veronica Helms Garrison, Analyst, PD&R/HUD
Panel Discussion: Overview of Source of Income Protections and What the Research Tells Us About Their Effectiveness - Panelists are:
Panel Discussion: Lessons from State and Local Implementation - Panelists are:
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The June 2024 Fair Lending Report describes CFPB's fair lending activities in enforcement, guidance and rulemaking, interagency coordination, and outreach and activities for calendar year 2023. It is submitted to Congress. The fair lending activities of the CFPB are summarized here.