How Do I Complain About Fair Housing Discrimination?

What are the most prevalent violations of fair housing laws? Understanding and preventing common fair housing mistakes is crucial for property owners and managers to ensure compliance with these laws. Some of the most frequent violations include:

1. Failure to Maintain Adequate Records: Property owners must keep comprehensive records related to tenant applications, leases, and interactions. Failure to do so can lead to legal issues.

2. Inconsistent Application of Rules: Applying rules and policies inconsistently among tenants can be considered discriminatory. Consistency is key in treating all tenants fairly.

3. Retaliation: Retaliating against tenants for exercising their fair housing rights is a serious violation. It’s essential to respect tenant rights and not take adverse actions in response to their complaints.

4. Implementing an All-Adult Complex: Refusing to rent to families with children or implementing an all-adult policy can violate familial status laws. Housing providers should not discriminate against families with children unless certain conditions apply.

5. Violation of Familial Status Laws Concerning Safety: While safety concerns are important, property owners must ensure that any restrictions on families with children are legitimate and necessary for the safety of all residents. Blanket policies that restrict families may lead to violations.

6. Failure to Reasonably Accommodate Tenants with Disabilities: Property owners are required to provide reasonable accommodations to tenants with disabilities. This includes making necessary changes to policies or property features to ensure equal access and enjoyment of the property.

By addressing these common fair housing violations and maintaining a commitment to fair housing principles, property owners can create a more inclusive and legally compliant living environment for all tenants.

The most frequently reported type of discrimination in fair housing complaints is based on disability. However, it’s crucial to clarify that the frequency of complaints related to disability does not directly reflect the overall prevalence of housing discrimination.

The Civil Rights Department (CRD) primarily addresses complaints related to violations of civil rights in various contexts. The most common complaints filed with the CRD encompass issues such as employment discrimination, where individuals face unfair treatment or discrimination in the workplace based on factors like race, gender, age, or disability. Additionally, the CRD also addresses complaints concerning employee harassment, which includes instances of unwelcome behavior or mistreatment experienced by workers within their workplace, creating an environment that is hostile or offensive. These two key areas, employment discrimination and employee harassment, form the core of the complaints handled by the CRD, with the department working to ensure that individuals’ civil rights are upheld and protected in these critical aspects of their lives.