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This month, we finish our two-part lesson on deadly fair housing sins, old and new. Last month, Part I of the lesson covered the old—violation of federal fair housing rules that have been on the books for many years, but continue to trigger costly fair housing claims.
This month, we’re going to review how to ensure compliance with fair housing law when dealing with recent immigrants. It’s a hot button issue in light of the national debate over immigration reform.
In this special issue of Fair Housing Coach, we’ll review recent legal developments related to sexual orientation and gender identity—and same-sex marriage. Although federal law doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, or ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in conventional housing communities, there have been many recent developments involving both issues in the political, regulatory, legislative, and judicial arenas.
It’s summertime, so this month’s issue of Fair Housing Coach is ditching its usual lesson plan and taking a field trip—to see what’s happened this year in courts around the country.
This issue of Fair Housing Coach focuses on conventional housing communities, but federal law imposes specific requirements with respect to screening and admissions based on criminal history in public and HUD-assisted housing communities. HUD Chief Shaun Donovan recently addressed those requirements—and the need to balance the needs of ex-offenders to return to their families in stable housing while ensuring the safety of all residents.
This month, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, our lesson focuses on discrimination based on race—the bedrock of fair housing law. When the landmark legislation was enacted in 1968, Congress declared that ensuring fair housing throughout the United States was a national policy of the “highest priority.” The law's broad provisions banning housing discrimination were intended to replace racially segregated neighborhoods with “truly integrated and balanced living patterns.”
This month's issue reviews the fair housing provisions banning discrimination based on sex. The law, originally aimed at practices that foreclosed opportunities for women to buy or rent homes, has evolved to encompass a broad array of discriminatory practices. For example, courts have recognized that the rules protect men, as well as women, in finding owners liable for denying housing to male applicants on the assumption that they were more likely to damage the property or host loud parties than female residents.
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