Skip to main content

Rep. Maxine Waters takes strong stand for Fair Housing:

            Senator Maxine Water’s has introduced CRL, H.R. 6220., this bill is a response to the actions of Secretary of HUD Ben Carson.  Carson has proposed cutting the HUD budget by 1 billion dollars, increased rental fees, has removed fair housing language from their mission statement, and has suspended the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. Senator Water’s proposed bill is intended to restore HUD’s fair housing agenda. This restoration entails: the adding the fair housing language to the mission statement, restoring “HUD’s AFFH rule as soon as practically possible following the bill’s enactment; HUD’s Local Government Assessment Tool that helps state and local jurisdictions to comply with the AFFH rule within 30 days of enactment; and a requirement that the HUD Secretary report to Congress a Secretary-directed review of fair housing complaints that involve an online platform, the addition of  an analysis of trends and risks related to discrimination, steps to address such discrimination, and the status of complaints filed. The legislation also includes a requirement that owners and operators of HUD-funded homeless shelters to post a notice informing clients of their rights under an agency rule regarding gender identity. This rule affects any grantee receiving funding through the agency’s Community Planning and Development program.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Pinklining"? Innovative way to deny women home loans

From redlining to  “pinklining,” a term most people have probably never heard, is hurting women and especially women of color.  The term comes from the 1970's term   redlining . T he term used by governments, agencies, banks and other lenders to deny people of color access to mortgages and credit. Those in charge of public policy and lending practices would draw a redline around certain neighborhoods with high concentrations of minorities and deny them financing and other forms of credit if they lived within those lines. Now, more specifically lenders are using the term "pinklining" ala redlining to identify neighborhoods and deny woman of color the chance to buy homes. Is There a Gender Gap in Home Equity Loans? (investopedia.com)

News Roundup: March 15-26

NFHA President Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee (Reading the full testimony is strongly recommended for anyone interested Fair Housing issues.) On March 11, Shanna Smith of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NHFA) testified before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommitte on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, with a presentation titled "Protecting the American Dream: A Look at the Fair Housing Act." The testimony emphasizes that in spite of our efforts, the nation still falls "dramatically short of reaching the actual goals of the Fair Housing Act" which is designed to "eliminate housing discrimination and to promote residential integration." "While people are working together in greater numbers than ever before--many go home each night to racially segregated neighborhoods." Shanna "explores the nature and extent of housing discrimination as it is manifested today, how enforcement action is moving

Homebuyers, Know Your Rights, Pending Changes to the Hosuing Law:

  The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination in the sale, lease, purchase,   investment or loan process, based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin, and have recently added protection for housing discrimination based on gender  identity and sexual orientation. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  enforces the Act through the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity office (FHEO). However, the  Fair Housing Act does not protect transactions or leases involving for sale or for rent by owner  properties and some owner-occupied buildings. Currently, a bill (the “Equality Act”) is waiting  to pass the Senate, which would amend civil rights law to ban discrimination on the basis of  sexual orientation, sex, and gender identity in credit and housing, employment, public  accommodations, public education, federal funding, and the jury system. This article discusses  certain LGBTQ homebuyer statistics, warning signs of housing disc