Housing discrimination has existed over time. After the World War II ended, African Americans have been refused of the opportunity to live in the suburbs or even to engage in real estate transactions. Up to now, there are still incidences of discrimination. Sometimes it comes discreetly that a person may have a hard time identifying if such action can be categorized as such.
At any rate, whether obvious or subtle discrimination, it should be stopped. Thanks to Fair Housing Act, incidences of discrimination have been reduced. Every person has been given equal opportunities to transact in real estate transactions; whether it is about buying, renting and financing.
Know More about FHA
Fair housing Act contains provisions that will protect you against discrimination. Reading the law would also help you determine acts that would constitute discrimination. So every time you engage in real estate transaction, you will know your right and you will know when you are rightfully refused during transacting with lenders and landlords.
Provisions in the FHA will be the basis for creating lawsuits for parties believed to be guilty of doing discriminatory acts. The prohibitions include discrimination based upon race, color, sex, religion, nationality, familial status or disability.
Here are some acts that could be considered unlawful according to FHA:
Steering people away so as not to let them live in a particular neighborhood due to their race, color, sex, religion, familial status or disability.
Discrimination in terms of package deals for their financing because of who they are.
Blocking couples with children to live in a particular area.
Preventing elderly to stay in a certain neighborhood.
Refusal to make or consent to alterations to a particular property to make the place more accessible for disabled people.
There are other acts that could be considered discrimination. Although, discriminatory acts are not all explicit, they could be very well categorized as such. Getting to know the FHA better could further enlighten you with this matter. From this, you could make a decision, whether or not to file a complaint and to seek legal actions for it, in the event you think you are being discriminated or abused.
Updates on FHA
Part of the provisions of FHA is to prohibit discrimination related to familial status. This means any landowner cannot refuse to sell homes to people because of preference to age and marital status. However, housing communities designed for 55 and older would normally refuse to sell homes to any one not falling in this age category and might be mistaken as discrimination. Because of this, the FHA was amended given that there are significant facilities and services provided specially for the elderly. Another condition to apply is that majority of the house members should be elderly. Majority in here means 80%.
Enforcing FHA
If you think you have become a victim of such discriminatory acts, you can file a complaint to HUD. They will conduct an investigation to determine if such acts were committed. If found guilty, the government would take action.
FHA is not some law that you should be neglecting. Any person violating such act will be subjected to penalties and could be treated as a criminal offense.
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