HUD and Justice fail to enforce fair
housing law
NFHA Reveals High Levels of
Housing Discrimination
WASHINGTON, DC- African Americans and Latinos experienced
more than three million instances of illegal housing
discrimination last year, according to estimates from the
2004 Fair Housing Trends Report released today by the
National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA). NFHA is the only
national organization dedicated solely to promoting fair
housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
charged only four race discrimination cases in 2003. The U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) filed only six race
discrimination cases in 2003.
"The numbers tell a very clear, very sad story - the federal Fair Housing Act has not been enforced," said Shanna L. Smith, President of the National Fair Housing Alliance. "According to our complaint reports and HUD’s recent Housing Discrimination Study, housing discrimination based on race, national origin and disability is occurring at an alarming rate. More than thirty-five years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, it is inexcusable that housing discrimination is so widespread and remains virtually unchallenged," Smith continued.
The 2004 Fair Housing Trends Report is based on 2003 complaint data compiled from HUD, DOJ, 85 private, non-profit fair housing agencies throughout the nation, and more than ninety Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies - state and local governmental agencies whose laws are deemed to be substantially equivalent to the federal Fair Housing Act.
The highest percentage of housing discrimination complaints in 2003 was filed by African Americans and persons with disabilities. Race was the most commonly reported basis for housing discrimination (29% of all complaints), followed by disability and familial status (27% and 13% of all complaints, respectively). Complaints based on national origin comprised the next highest category of discrimination (10%). The percentage of national origin complaints (especially from Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders) is artificially low because claims of discrimination against these groups are grossly underreported due to language, cultural, and legal barriers. A total of 25,154 complaints were filed nationwide in 2003.
In order to effectively address illegal housing discrimination, HUD must increase the funding level for fair housing agencies at the local level. HUD has failed to provide adequate and consistent funding to the very organizations capable of initiating investigations of the rental, sales, lending and insurance industries responsible for housing discrimination. HUD ’s fair housing enforcement process and administration of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program must be restructured. The Department of Justice must refocus its efforts to bring more fair housing cases that result in meaningful change of discriminatory housing markets.
Fifty years after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, neighborhoods and schools remain largely segregated and unequal. NFHA will announce the winner of its 2004 Poster Competition, photographer Charter Weeks, whose entry portrays the connection between segregated neighborhoods and segregated schools. Housing choice plays a crucial role in determining a family’s opportunity to send their children to quality schools, to secure gainful employment, and to afford health care services and transportation.
For more information: The National Fair Housing Alliance