Other

RSS

Last week, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced a bill to outlaw discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) Americans in the housing and credit markets. The bill also would ban housing discrimination based on marital status and source of income. Rep. Jerrold Nadler introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

The October issue of Fair Housing Coach reviews the fair housing provisions banning discrimination based on sex. The law prohibits a broad array of discriminatory practices against either men or women because of their gender.

Federal fair housing law also recognizes sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. In most cases, the perpetrators are property managers, employees, or contractors, but community owners may be liable for sexual harassme...

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that it has opened a civil investigation into allegations of discriminatory policing by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) members based in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif. The investigation will focus on allegations that the Lancaster and Palmdale stations of the LASD are engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in violation of federal law, inc...

The September issue of Fair Housing Coach reviews federal laws about when—and under what circumstances—communities must allow people to bring animals onto the property.

This subject has generated a lot of confusion—and formal fair housing complaints, according to HUD. Adding to the confusion are new federal regulations related to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), another federal law protecting the rights of individuals with disabi...

The August 2011 issue of Fair Housing Coach reviews the most common forms of additional protections available under state or local law. And, as an extra bonus, we’ve included a table to provide a state-by-state snapshot of current state fair housing laws. Here are some highlights from the August issue:

Congratulations to Carol Johnson Perkins, Esq., the editor of Fair Housing Coach! The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) has awarded Fair Housing Coach the Best Newsletter in its annual journalism competition. The NAREE program recognizes excellence in reporting, writing, and editing stories about residential and commercial real estate.

Award winners were selected by a panel of expert judges from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio Univ...

In a Special Issue of Fair Housing Coach, we’ve collected a set of model forms for use in handling reasonable accommodation and modification requests by individuals with disabilities.

Disagreements involving such requests often lead to formal fair housing complaints, so federal fair housing enforcement officials recommend the use of standard policies and procedures to prevent misunderstandings, and in the event of later disputes, to document that the ...

In June, two more states added fair housing protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

On June 1, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed into law a bill (SB368) to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

And Connecticut, which already prohibits housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, new legislation (HB6599) adds gender identity or expression to the list of ch...

April 2011: Last month, the City of Philadelphia adopted a measure to update its Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, use of public accommodations, and the delivery of city services. The comprehensive update of the law accomplishes three primary goals: extending protections to new classes of Philadelphians, creating greater capacity for enforcement by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR), and updating the lang...