Lesson 19: Civil Rights and Fair Housing Law Flashcards
fair housing act
In contrast, the Fair Housing Act is limited to the sale or lease of residential property or vacant land intended for residential construction.
But the Fair Housing Act also prohibits discrimination in advertising, lending, real estate brokerage, and other services connected with residential real estate.
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act was enacted in 1975 to help enforce federal laws against redlining.
The law requires large institutional lenders to report annually on the residential mortgage loans that they make or purchase each year.
By studying the loan data contained in these reports, government investigators can identify the areas and communities in which few or no home loans are being made, and check for any discriminatory lending patterns.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
While the Fair Housing Act’s requirements apply only to housing, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all places of public accommodation and other commercial facilities.
Fair Employment and Housing Act
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (also known as the Rumford Act) was passed in 1963 to prohibit discrimination in, among other things, the sale or lease of residential property in California.
It contains many of the same prohibitions as the federal Fair Housing Act, but it has a wider range of protected classes and fewer exemptions.
testers
One of the most common methods of proving violations of antidiscrimination laws is through the use of testers.
In a typical case, a person who feels she was the victim of discrimination submits a complaint to a community fair housing organization.
The organization will send testers out to the housing in question. Testers may be volunteers, or may be compensated with expenses and a nominal fee.
exclusionary zoning
Zoning laws that have the effect of denying housing to minorities are prohibited.
For example, if an ordinance prohibits or unreasonably restricts permits for multi-family or low-income housing, it may be considered exclusionary zoning.
disparate impact
It’s highly unlikely a city or county would enact an explicitly discriminatory zoning ordinance anymore. As a result, charges of discrimination in zoning are usually based on something called disparate impact.
Disparate impact means that even though the ordinance appears neutral, its effect is discriminatory because the impact of the law falls more heavily on the members of a protected class than it does on other people.
