Fair Housing vs. Unfair Housing

Do you know the difference?

Knowing the difference between fair housing and unfair housing isn't as obvious as you might think. This blog aims to present a variety of important and interesting fair housing issues.

If you're an apartment professional, avoid costly mistakes by reading the stories of others who — even with good intentions — learned compliance lessons the hard way. (For the easy way, click here.)

If you live in an apartment, get familiar with your rights when it comes to housing discrimination, as well as your options for seeking justice.


Sunday, January 11, 2009

"No HUD" No Good, Says Coalition

The Kauai Fair Housing Law Coalition has had enough of landlords advertising their properties with notes that read "No HUD." It's not that these landlords are claiming the Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn't exist. They're indicating that they won't consider rental applicants who participate in any HUD housing program, most notably the housing choice voucher program (formerly known as Section 8), The Garden Island reports.

Currently, these landlords' actions are legal. The Fair Housing Act doesn't ban discrimination based on source of income, which means it's up to state and local governments to pass legislation outlawing this type of discrimination, if they wish.

This is exactly what the Coalition is reportedly aiming to do with its "HUD OK NOW!!" campaign. Arguing that that so many of Hawaii's (and particularly Kauai's) homeless are people who lost their chance to use housing vouchers, which are subject to a 120-day expiration, the coalition hopes to convince legislators to make Hawaii the next state to protects prospective tenants against discrimination based on source of income.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well HUD and HUD-sponsored agencies don't know the difference. They don't even understand Constitutional Rights.

The Growing Farce of Fair Housing
http://www.fff.org/freedom/0798d.asp

Dan Bader's Experience with The Fair Housing Council of Orange County (FHCOC)
http://stategonecrazy.com/

The Shakedown: HUD and Its Cronies
http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2008/12/shakedown-hud-and-its-cronies.html

Usually, their "conciliation" or "shakedown" contract has many terms and extends over time. Though they first acknowledge you deny the "allegations". Then basically say, "let's put it behind us by you making a "donation"." And you take paid $250 classes for years from a HUD-sponsored group, like ACORN.

No legitimate organization of any kind would ask you to sign an agreement to make a "donation" for your "alleged" violation (and not tell you what it is EXACTLY what that is, or who is accusing you), where you also have to agree that this agreement VOLUNTARY and NOT COERCED, and you agree NOT TO TALK after you sign. Criminal organizations do do this though.

If what they were doing was legitimate, they would not even have to be concerned about you agreeing to it being "voluntary and not coerced", and they would have no problem letting you talk afterwards...because it was fair right? It is really amazing what is happening today in this country by HUD and those unregulated organizations they sponsor, with our taxpayer money.

People need to write their elected officials.

Anonymous said...

So, you admit that Fair Housing Targets those who have real estate licenses. That's selective discrimination in anybody's book. You're all a bunch of hypocrits!

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't the government require that any landlord that has say..more than 3 rentals, 1 should HAVE to be a HUD rental? Let's start a petition people..I'm sick & tired of landlords, banks & investors buying homes on the cheap with cash, yet they can't help rent to people on HUD?

Anonymous said...

HUD people, as a landlord, have a higher risk of causing damage, and walking out on a lease. I've seen it. Experienced it. Many people have. Its not that we dislike people on low income housing, and yes it is about money, but its also about proper business practice. Its about statistics and experience