The Housing Agency has announced National Fair Housing Month, a national media 
campaign with the theme of fair housing rights and responsibilities. Throughout the month of April the agency will engage in a series of community dialogues on a range of related topics.
Recently 108 nonprofits and fair housing agencies were awarded $41 million to educate the public and to work to prevent housing discrimination in mortgage lending, rental and sales practices. Many of the agencies will “test” real estate related professionals and/or landlords to insure that their business practices meet mandatory standards. Others will investigate housing complaints and educate the public.
The education of immigrants and society in general is a major goal. HUD conducted its first “Immigrant Housing Conference” in Omaha, Nebraska on April 14th.
The “Live Free” campaign will begin with print media. The goal of the campaign is to emphasize the importance of ensuring fair treatment of those in “protected classes.” This year’s focus will be the prevention of discriminatory practices based on “national origin.”
Neighborhood listing brokers, this would be an excellent time for real estate professionals on your team to huddle to ensure that all team members are current and in compliance with Fair Housing legislation as it relates to the practice of real estate. It’s central to best practices, it is good for business and it is the law.
Read more about grant awardees and their specialty functions and this month’s “Live Free” campaign.