The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this week the disbursement of more than $38 million to more than 100 groups across the nation to fight housing discrimination. The awards were made under HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.
The Fair Housing Act, or Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. But while the civil rights community and the federal government have been working to enforce the law, such harmful biases remain.
“Combating housing discrimination requires the aggressive enforcement of the nation’s fair housing laws, but HUD can’t do it alone,” HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez said in a statement. “The funding we are announcing today will enable organizations committed to justice and equality to support our efforts to ensure that everyone has equal access to available housing opportunities.”
The competitive grants will go to nonprofits and organizations such as the National Fair Housing Alliance and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore Neighborhoods in Baltimore, Md., who work to enforce the Fair Housing Act. The funds will support a range of efforts, including investigations and other enforcement activities to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices; the development of a national/regional testing program to identify discrimination in rental and sales transactions and outreach initiatives to educate communities and housing providers about their rights and responsibilities under federal law or state and local fair housing laws.
Housing discrimination complaints may be filed by contacting HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY); by going online to www.hud.gov/fairhousing, or by downloading HUD’s free housing discrimination mobile app on applicable Apple devices.
