Fair Housing Complaints Continue to Increase in 2022:

        Yes, believe it! Housing discrimination still exists, and housing discrimination has increased in the last few years. Discrimination in our communities continues to be a real problem. In today’s real estate business, however, it is far less evident than more than half a century ago when many people of color were barred from purchasing or renting homes in specific neighborhoods, and women struggled to get mortgages. Discrimination is not as blatant as in the past--there is modern-day housing discrimination. A renter can return from a rental showing and wonder if the renter has been discriminated against because the apartment is suddenly no longer available or the renter is told you would be “better and happier” in a different neighborhood. That is discrimination without the direct denial we do not rent to "_____________"!  A recent study indicated that overall complaints were 5.74 percent higher in 2022 than in 2021, and the data revealed an increase in complaints based on source of income and domestic violence specifically. In fact, the 33,007 fair housing complaints received in 2022 by private non-profit fair housing organizations, HUD, FHAP agencies, and the DOJ represent the highest number of complaints ever reported in a single year. There were 31,216 complaints filed in 2021 with these agencies. See 2023-Trends-Report-Final.pdf (nationalfairhousing.org) and https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/fair-housing-complaints-jump/