Fair Housing Act: 40 Years

Landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s included the Fair Housing Act: 40 years later equal housing opportunity for all Americans still is not a complete reality. Several changes to the Act, along with an emphasis on implementation of the basic provisions, have resulted in marked progress toward reducing discrimination in housing.

On April 11, 1968, one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, commonly called the Fair Housing Act. This law, as it currently stands in the law books, prohibits housing discrimination based on:

• Race
• Color
• National origin
• Religion
• Gender
• Family status:
  • Single
  • Children
  • People with disabilities

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was created with the Act to develop and manage programs to implement the Fair Housing Act. George Romney was selected by President Johnson to be the first HUD Secretary.

The Act was designed to provide equal opportunity to all Americans. Specific changes were mandated including:

• Individual choice - Individuals can choose where they want to live.
• Equal rights - Individuals have equal rights to sell, rent, lease and finance their home.
• Restriction - Neighborhoods can not be designated as "white only."
• Steering - Real estate brokers and agents can not deliberately reinforce segregated living patterns. They are also prohibited from attempting to preserve the racial, ethnic or economic distribution of a neighborhood by only showing homes for sale or rent to people who are just like the people currently in the neighborhood.
• Financial discrimination – Mortgage lenders and insurance companies can not discriminate by refusing to sell their loans and policies to non-white buyers or by charging higher rates in non-white areas.

The Act prohibits anyone from taking the following actions based on race or other qualifiying factors under the Act:

• Sale and rental of housing
  • Refuse to rent or sell
  • Refuse to negotiate
  • Make housing unavailable
  • Set different terms or conditions for sale or rental of housing
  • Falsely deny that specific housing is available for rent or sale
• Mortgage lending
  • Refuse to make a mortgage loan
  • Refuse to provide information about a loan program
  • Charge different terms or conditions
  • Refuse to purchase a loan
• Other prohibitions
  • Make a statement in advertising that indicates a preference for or against a certain characteristic
  • Threaten or interfere with anyone who is exercising a right allowed under the Act

In addition to the basic discrimination rights protected under the Act, physically or mentally disabled individuals have special protections with regards to landlords. Specifically, landlords may not:

• Refuse to let a tenant make reasonable modifications at their own expense to the housing or common use areas for use by the disabled
• Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in the rules and policies which would keep a disabled individual from being able to use the housing

The Fair Housing Act covers most housing transactions, but there are some situations that are exempted from following the Act:

• Owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units
• Single-family housing that is sold or rented without a real estate agent or broker
• Housing that is operated by organizations and clubs for the sole occupancy of their members

According to HUD representatives, implementation has not come easily for the Fair Housing Act: 40 years of monitoring and reinforcing the law still results in many people still unlawfully being denied housing. HUD's Fiscal Year 2007 State of Fair Housing report shows that:

• More than 10,000 people filed housing discrimination complaints in 2007 of which:
  • 43 percent were about disability housing discrimination
  • 37 percent were about race-based housing discrimination
• The number and types of housing discrimination complaints has remained constant from 2004 to 2007.

Legislation often has amendments included to strengthen, revise or update the factors included in the law. The Fair Housing Act has seen several changes during the last forty years:

• 1974 - Amendments were made to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.
• 1988 - Amendments were made to:
  • Prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.
  • Prohibit discrimination on the basis of familial status.
  • Ensure that the special needs of older Americans are met – Housing areas can be designed for individuals aged 55 and older if they have at least 80 percent of their occupied units occupied by individuals who are 55 or older.
  • Increase HUD's role in enforcement of the Act - Complaints are now actively investigated by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). If the complaint is not resolved, the FHEO can schedule a hearing before a HUD judge. Unresolved cases can be brought as a civil case and are then heard in the federal courts.

The Supreme Court has shown support for the Act in many decisions since 1968. The Court has not defined phrases such as fair housing, but it has supported the importance of achieving integration and has supported procedural actions that are being taken to support the Act.

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