2019 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing: Phase 1 Report

Home

Introduction: About the Fair Housing Act and the Analysis of Impediments Report The Fair Housing Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. Encompassing Title VIII through Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, it explicitly outlawed discrimination based on religion, race, color, and national origin as it relates to the rental, sale, or financing of housing. In 1974, discrimination based on sex also became illegal and has since come to encompass protection against sexual harassment. The Fair Housing Amendments Act was signed in 1988 and was implemented in March of the following year. This amendment added persons with disabilities and mandated accessibility features for multi -family residences of four or more units built for occupancy on or after March 13, 1991. Families with children also became a protected class, with protection extending to pregnant women. Today, the Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of the following protected classes: • Race • Color (including ethnic background) • Ancestry or National Origin • Religion • Sex (including protections for victims of domestic violence and gender performance) • Familial Status (including family composition, pregnancy, and the presence of children) • Disability (both physical and mental) The State of Hawaii additionally prohibits discrimination based on: • Marital status • HIV status • Sexual Orientation (including transgender) • Age The Fair Housing Act has three objectives. The first goal concerns equal opportunity and access to housing. Second, the Act seeks to remedy discriminatory practices in mortgage lending and property appraisal. And third, it seeks to eliminate preferential treatment as well as threats to all individuals' fair housing rights. While designed to cover all forms of housing, there are few situations in which a person or group might be exempt from the Act, such as 1) owner -occupied homes with no more than four units, 2) rentals or sales of single-family homes without a broker, and 3) private clubs or organizations that require membership. The Fair Housing Act covers not only direct incidents of discrimination (such as a property manager refusing to rent to a particular racial group) but also policies and procedures that may have a disparate impact on a particular group. In other words, even if a policy is not written as discriminatory, it can still be in violation of the FHA if it has a disproportionate impact on a protected class. As with all FHA rules, this applies to both private firms and government agencies. To make a disparate impact claim, a plaintiff must show that a particular policy 1) has a causal effect that disadvantages a protected class; 2) does not serve any necessary business purpose that could not be achieved in a different manner. In 1994, President Clinton issued Executive Order No. 12892 that affirmed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as the primary authority on leading fair housing initiatives and 3