April 11, 2023•Advocacy Matters
Fair Housing Month Celebrates the 55th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act
Fair Housing Month Celebrates the 55th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act
Disability Matters with Joyce Bender
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
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Fair Housing Month Celebrates the 55th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act
April is Fair Housing Month. The purpose of Fair Housing Month is to educate the public about the need to eliminate housing discrimination and increase our knowledge and understanding of federal fair housing policies and laws.
To help celebrate Fair Housing Month, we want to note that today, April 11th, marks the 55th anniversary of the enactment of the federal Fair Housing Act. The law prohibited discrimination in private, as well as public housing based on race, religion, color, and national origin. The act protects people from discrimination in all aspects of housing such as the sale or rental of housing, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities.
The Fair Housing Act was amended in 1988 to broaden protections under the law. In 1988 it became illegal to discriminate against families with children and people with disabilities in housing.
In February 2021, the Department of Housing and Urban Development clarified that the Fair Housing Act also prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the federal agency that enforces the Fair Housing Act, including fair housing under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Architectural Barriers Act.
In 2021, the National Fair Housing Alliance reported that there were 31,216 complaints of housing discrimination in the United States. Of those, 53.68 percent of all complaints were filed on the basis of disability.
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The most important thing we can do to celebrate Fair Housing Month is to educate ourselves about fair housing and the process to file complaints with HUD. Visit disabilityrightspa.org and click on today’s #AdvocacyMatters segment
For fact sheets on fair housing, tenants’ rights under federal fair housing laws, and more. You can also find information about the HUD complaint process as well as HUD’s information on fair housing and equal opportunity.
Links
HUD Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp
HUD Complaint Process
https://www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint
National Fair Housing Alliance 2022 Report on Fair Housing Trends
https://nationalfairhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-Fair-Housing-Trends-Report.pdf
Disability Rights Pennsylvania Housing Resources
Resources for Advocating for Disability Rights (disabilityrightspa.org)