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Do you have questions about fair housing law that have not been addressed on this site? If so, this section is provided as a resource for you with a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, the option to submit questions, a list of key definitions, and a compilation of fair housing resources.
This section contains some sample letters to use in officially communicating with your landlord.
Your fair housing rights are protected under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act). If those rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with HUD.
Filing a Fair Housing Complaint
The Fair Housing Act protects seven protected classes: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.
The Fair Housing Act covers “dwellings”: any building, structure, or portion of a building that is occupied or intended to be occupied or where a person intends to return. The Act applies only if the owner has an interest in four or more homes/units (e.g., An apartment building with more than four units, a single home where the landlord owns three other homes, or a house with three bedrooms being rented to three different people and where the landlord maintains his own home).
The following activities may indicate discrimination. You can follow up by requesting a written explanation from the housing provider or by contacting an agency, such as the Intermountain Fair Housing Council, who can do testing to see if discrimination is occurring.
A complaint must be filed with HUD within one year of the date the discrimination occurred.
Best Practices To Avoid Fair Housing Act Violations
If you have an attorney, notify your attorney of the complaint.
Collect and review the documents pertinent to the complaint and make a list of potential witnesses to the incident in question.
It is a good idea to keep records on all prospective, current, and past residents. You should also have a written screening policy and documentation showing that policy is uniformly and consistently applied to each applicant.
Weigh the merits of the complaint based on your or your attorney’s review of the facts and relevant law
Commonly used terms and acronyms related to Fair Housing.
Blockbusting – Encouraging an owner to rent or sell quickly and at a loss by appealing to the fear that prospective purchases or tenancies by members of a minority group will bring a loss of value.
Channeling – Sending a person into a neighborhood, or not showing some neighborhoods, based on ethnic identity. (e.g.,In the Treasure Valley, Latinos are routinely shown realty listings in the Nampa/Caldwell area rather than Boise).
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