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  1. Justice.gov
• Civil Liberty Division
• The Fair Housing Act
  
  The Fair Housing Act
  
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  The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., prohibits discrimination by direct service providers of housing, such as property managers and real estate companies in addition to other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other loan provider and property owners insurer whose inequitable practices make housing unavailable to individuals due to the fact that of:
  
  race or color. faith. sex. national origin. familial status, or. special needs.
  
  In cases including discrimination in mortgage loans or home enhancement loans, the Department might file suit under both the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The Department brings cases where there is evidence of a pattern or practice of discrimination or where a denial of rights to a group of persons raises a problem of public value. Where force or danger of force is used to reject or interfere with reasonable housing rights, the Department of Justice may institute criminal procedures. The Fair Housing Act also offers procedures for dealing with private problems of discrimination. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of a prohibited housing practice, may file a problem with the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] or file their own lawsuit in federal or state court. The Department of Justice brings matches on behalf of people based upon recommendations from HUD.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Race or Color
  
  One of the main goals of the Fair Housing Act, when Congress enacted it in 1968, was to restrict race discrimination in sales and rentals of housing. Nevertheless, more than thirty years later, race discrimination in housing continues to be a problem. The majority of the Justice Department's pattern or practice cases involve claims of race discrimination. Sometimes, housing providers try to disguise their discrimination by providing false information about availability of housing, either saying that absolutely nothing was offered or guiding homeseekers to specific locations based on race. Individuals who get such false information or misdirection may have no understanding that they have been victims of discrimination. The Department of Justice has actually brought lots of cases declaring this kind of discrimination based upon race or color. In addition, the Department's Fair Housing Testing Program seeks to uncover this type of concealed discrimination and hold those responsible accountable. Most of the mortgage financing cases brought by the Department under the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act have actually alleged discrimination based on race or color. A few of the Department's cases have also alleged that towns and other city government entities violated the Fair Housing Act when they denied licenses or zoning modifications for housing developments, or relegated them to primarily minority communities, since the prospective homeowners were expected to be mainly African-Americans.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Religion
  
  The Fair Housing Act restricts discrimination in housing based upon faith. This prohibition covers instances of overt discrimination against members of a particular religion also less direct actions, such as zoning ordinances developed to restrict using private homes as a locations of worship. The variety of cases submitted considering that 1968 alleging spiritual discrimination is small in comparison to a few of the other prohibited bases, such as race or nationwide origin. The Act does include a restricted exception that enables non-commercial housing run by a religious company to reserve such housing to individuals of the exact same religion.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Sex, Including Unwanted Sexual Advances
  
  The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in housing on the basis of sex. Over the last few years, the Department's focus in this location has been to challenge unwanted sexual advances in housing. Women, particularly those who are poor, and with restricted housing alternatives, often have little recourse however to endure the embarrassment and deterioration of unwanted sexual advances or risk having their households and themselves got rid of from their homes. The Department's enforcement program is aimed at landlords who create an untenable living environment by requiring sexual favors from tenants or by creating a sexually hostile environment for them. In this manner we look for both to acquire relief for occupants who have actually been treated unfairly by a property owner because of sex and likewise deter other possible abusers by making it clear that they can not continue their conduct without dealing with effects. In addition, prices discrimination in mortgage financing might also negatively affect ladies, especially minority ladies. This type of discrimination is unlawful under both the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon National Origin
  
  The Fair Housing Act forbids discrimination based upon nationwide origin. Such discrimination can be based either upon the country of a person's birth or where his/her ancestors stem. Census information suggest that the Hispanic population is the fastest growing segment of our country's population. The Justice Department has taken enforcement action versus community federal governments that have attempted to reduce or limit the variety of Hispanic households that might live in their neighborhoods. We have taken legal action against lenders under both the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act when they have imposed more strict underwriting requirements on mortgage or made loans on less beneficial terms for Hispanic customers. The Department has also taken legal action against loan providers for discrimination against Native Americans. Other locations of the country have experienced an increasing diversity of national origin groups within their populations. This includes brand-new immigrants from Southeastern Asia, such as the Hmong, the previous Soviet Union, and other parts of Eastern Europe. We have actually taken action versus personal landlords who have actually discriminated against such individuals.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Familial Status
  
  The Fair Housing Act, with some exceptions, forbids discrimination in versus households with children under 18. In addition to prohibiting a straight-out rejection of housing to families with children, the Act likewise prevents housing companies from imposing any unique requirements or conditions on occupants with custody of children. For instance, property managers may not find households with kids in any single part of a complex, put an unreasonable limitation on the total number of persons who might reside in a dwelling, or restrict their access to leisure services provided to other renters. In most circumstances, the modified Fair Housing Act prohibits a housing company from declining to rent or sell to families with kids. However, some centers might be designated as Housing for Older Persons (55 years of age). This type of housing, which fulfills the standards set forth in the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995, might operate as "senior" housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has actually published policies and additional assistance detailing these statutory requirements.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Disability
  
  The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of special needs in all kinds of housing transactions. The Act specifies individuals with a special needs to imply those individuals with mental or physical disabilities that considerably limit one or more major life activities. The term mental or physical impairment might consist of conditions such as blindness, hearing impairment, mobility impairment, HIV infection, mental retardation, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, persistent fatigue, finding out disability, head injury, and mental disorder. The term major life activity may consist of seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, performing manual jobs, taking care of one's self, discovering, speaking, or working. The Fair Housing Act likewise secures persons who have a record of such an impairment, or are considered as having such a disability. Current users of prohibited illegal drugs, persons convicted for unlawful manufacture or circulation of a controlled substance, sex transgressors, and juvenile offenders are not thought about disabled under the Fair Housing Act, by virtue of that status. The Fair Housing Act manages no protections to people with or without disabilities who present a direct risk to the individuals or residential or commercial property of others. Determining whether somebody presents such a direct threat should be made on a personalized basis, however, and can not be based on general presumptions or speculation about the nature of an impairment. The Division's enforcement of the Fair Housing Act's protections for individuals with impairments has concentrated on two significant locations. One is guaranteeing that zoning and other regulations worrying land usage are not utilized to prevent the property options of these people, consisting of unnecessarily restricting common, or congregate, property arrangements, such as group homes. The 2nd location is guaranteeing that recently constructed multifamily housing is constructed in accordance with the Fair Housing Act's availability requirements so that it is available to and usable by people with impairments, and, in specific, those who utilize wheelchairs. There are other federal statutes that restrict discrimination against individuals with impairments, consisting of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is enforced by the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Liberty Division.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Disability Group Homes
  
  Some individuals with disabilities might live together in congregate living plans, typically referred to as "group homes." The Fair Housing Act forbids municipalities and other city government entities from making zoning or land usage decisions or implementing land use policies that omit or otherwise victimize individuals with disabilities. The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful--
  
  - To make use of land use policies or actions that deal with groups of persons with impairments less favorably than groups of non-disabled persons. An example would be an ordinance restricting housing for individuals with impairments or a particular kind of impairment, such as mental illness, from locating in a specific area, while allowing other groups of unassociated people to live together because area.
• To take action versus, or deny an authorization, for a home since of the impairment of people who live or would live there. An example would be rejecting a structure authorization for a home since it was intended to supply housing for persons with psychological retardation.
• To refuse to make reasonable lodgings in land use and zoning policies and treatments where such lodgings may be required to afford individuals or groups of persons with disabilities an equal chance to utilize and enjoy housing. What constitutes an affordable accommodation is a case-by-case determination. Not all requested adjustments of guidelines or policies are affordable. If an asked for adjustment enforces an unnecessary monetary or administrative burden on a city government, or if a modification develops a basic change in a city government's land use and zoning plan, it is not a "reasonable" lodging.
  
  Discrimination in Housing Based Upon Disability-- Accessibility Features for New Construction
  
  The Fair Housing Act defines discrimination in housing versus individuals with disabilities to include a failure "to develop and build" certain brand-new multi-family homes so that they are accessible to and usable by individuals with specials needs, and especially people who use wheelchairs. The Act needs all newly constructed multi-family dwellings of four or more systems meant for very first occupancy after March 13, 1991, to have certain features: an available entrance on an accessible path, accessible typical and public use areas, doors sufficiently wide to accommodate wheelchairs, available routes into and through each residence, light switches, electric outlets, and thermostats in accessible location, reinforcements in bathroom walls to accommodate grab bar setups, and functional cooking areas and restrooms set up so that a wheelchair can navigate about the space.
  
  Developers, contractors, owners, and architects accountable for the style or building of brand-new multi-family housing might be held accountable under the Fair Housing Act if their structures stop working to fulfill these style requirements. The Department of Justice has brought lots of enforcement actions versus those who failed to do so. The majority of the cases have been dealt with by approval decrees providing a variety of types of relief, including: retrofitting to bring unattainable functions into compliance where possible and where it is not-- options (monetary funds or other building requirements) that will offer making other housing units accessible