31,216

HUD, RD, FHA Agencies, and the DOJ received 31,216 Fair Housing complaints in 2021.

On the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) website, you can read about all of HUD’s Fair Housing Enforcement activity. In July 2023, HUD charged a California landlord, property manager and maintenance worker with sexual harassment. In April 2023, HUD charged owners of a San Francisco Bay Area apartment building with discriminating against family with minor children.

The National Center for State Courts says, “People who believe they have been harmed by housing discrimination may file fair housing complaints directly with a HUD office within one year of when the discrimination occurred. HUD accepts and investigates such complaints through its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). FHEO investigates complaints and attempts to help the parties reach a voluntary agreement through conciliation.”

The Fair Housing Act was first signed into law in 1968. Even with this law in place, housing discrimination still exists today. Government agencies and the Department of Justice don’t take this lightly.

There are often financial penalties, civil lawsuits, Department of Justice investigations, and criminal charges involved with these infractions.

According to NCSC, “DOJ has jurisdiction under the Fair Housing Act to file civil lawsuits in federal court that allege a pattern-or-practice of housing discrimination, or a denial of rights to a group of persons that raises an issue of general public importance. DOJ has a longer statute of limitations in these cases. In addition, DOJ has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals who violate the criminal provision of the Fair Housing Act, which makes it unlawful for an individual to use force or threaten to use force to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, or attempt to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, any person's housing rights because of that person’s race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.”

As a property owner, manager, or other housing professional, you do not want to violate the Fair Housing Act. Lumina Compliance will do a thorough review of company policies regarding Fair Housing regulations. We can be proactive together.

What’s next? Sign up for a Lumina Compliance webinar or contact us today!