Great Place for Fair Housing News

The National Fair Housing Advocate's website has some breaking news, legal research, tools, links, etc. It's worth a view: http://www.fairhousing.com/.

Free Consumer Law Webinars Offered

The National Community Law Center (NCLC) is broadcasting free webinars on a variety of subjects interesting to consumers. While most are through its elder rights initiative —the National Elder Rights Training Project of the National Legal Resource Center sponsored by the Administration on Aging, others include auto fraud, domestic violence survivors, and others, such as:

• Foreclosure Prevention.
• Debt Collection.
• The Protection of Exempt Benefits.
• Bankruptcy.
• Effective Health Care Planning.
• Cars and Working Families: Cash for Clunkers.
• Credit Reporting and Repair for Domestic Violence Survivors.

Check it out: http://www.nclc.org/conferences-training/webinars.html.

New Edition of "Fair Housing E-News"

Just posted a new edition of Fair Housing E-News. Just a couple of the headlines:

PrimeLending Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination. Settlement Provides $2 Million to African-American Borrowers Who Paid Higher Interest Rates...between 2006 and 2009... http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/December/10-crt-1406.html

Census Finds Maryland's Minority Population Is Now 45% . The recently released 2010 decennial U. S. Census data showed Hispanics, African Americans and Asians are growing... HUD Proposes New Rule For Equal Housing Regardless Of Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity. View the proposed rule. The rule would: (1) Prohibit lenders from using sexual orientation or gender identity to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA mortgage financing; (2) Clarify that all otherwise eligible families, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation...

HUD Conducting The First National Study Of Housing Discrimination Against LGBT Community. Every ten years, HUD does a study of the impact of housing discrimination on the basis of race and color. LGBT individuals and families...

Obama Administration, Treasury, & HUD Release February Housing Scorecard.

Census Finds Gay Parenting More Prevalent in the South. The data show, child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according... Read the January 19, 2011 Times article.

Census Finds Maryland's Minority Population Is Now 45%. The recently released 2010 decennial U. S. Census data showed Hispanics, African Americans and Asians are growing... Read the article.

New State-by-State Analysis of Food Hardship Shows One in Seven Respondents in Maryland Reported in First Half of 2010 Inability to Afford Enough Food...

NY To Require Homeowners Facing Foreclosure To Be Represented by a Lawyer

New York State would be the first state to assure that all homeowners facing foreclosure be represented by a lawyer. While criminal defendents are guaranteed legal representation, a homeowner confronted with foreclosure is on his/her own. The problem affects a large number of people. In over 50% of active NY foreclosure cases the homeowner does not have a lawyer. This is "an uneven playing field," according to the chief judge of New York Jonathan Lippman. Read the article in the February 16, 2011 New York Times (page B1).

Trying to Find Accessible Rental Housing? See Our Guide to Internet Housing Sites.

The GBCHRB has just released a guide to internet sites that feature rental housing listings. To access it, go to: http://www.gbchrb.org/internethousingguide.htm.

Census Finds Maryland is More Diverse

According to the U. S. Census, Maryland's population grew far more diverse, while growth slowed dramatically in the Baltimore area. Baltimore lost 4.6% of its population, more than any other major city or county in the State. All of Maryland's growth was because of increasing minority populations: Hispanics doubled and the number of non-Hispanic whites declined. Non-Hispanic whites now make up less than 55% of Maryland's 5.8 million people, compared to 65% in 2000. Read the Baltimore Sun article: .

HUD Study Finds Lowest-Income Renters Hurting

In a report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that “worst case housing needs” grew by nearly 1.2 million households, or more than 20 percent, from 2007 to 2009 and by 42 percent since 2001. “Worst case housing needs” are defined as low-income households who paid more than half their monthly income for rent, lived in severely substandard housing, or both. The study, Worst Case Housing Needs 2009: A Report to Congress, is part of a series of reports to measure the scale of critical housing problems facing low-income un-assisted American renting households. The findings are from HUD's American Housing Survey conducted between May-September, 2009. The report found the increased numbers of worst case needs and the recent recession and related joblessness are strongly related. Read the February 1, 2011 HUD press release: .