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.


Thursday, April 20, 2017

National Fair Housing Alliance Report Shines Light on Fair Housing Patterns, Trends and Challenges

Each year, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) issues a report based on its collection of housing discrimination data from across the United States in the prior year. Yesterday, the NFHA released its new 2017 Fair Housing Trends Report: The Case for Fair Housing. Highlighting the past year's patterns, trends and challenges, the timely report is a must-read for Fair Housing Month.

The report notes that an estimated four-million-plus instances of housing discrimination occur annually. However, the number of fair housing complaints actually filed in 2016 totaled 28,181, a slight increase from 2015. Disability-based discrimination continued to account for the majority (55%) of all complaints, while race-based discrimination was the second-most common type (19.6%). Overall, fair housing complaints concerning rental transactions continued an upward trend, now accounting for 91.5% of total complaints.

The comprehensive report includes many more findings, data, and thoughtful analysis, including a discussion of fair housing issues with online services such as Facebook and Airbnb. The report also offers recommendations for eliminating housing discrimination, strengthening fair housing enforcement, and expanding access to opportunity.

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