Discrimination in Housing
By samanthaorwell on June 14, 2008 - 11:01am
READ FULL WITH LINKS:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/discrimination-in-hous...
Many people don't realize that a lot of people are homeless because of discriminatory housing policies. When finding my own place to live I faced discrimination. In some buildings a young student can be seen as bad because we "party all the time" and are irresponsible. In some houses they WANT a young student so they can mesh with the other roomates in the house.
But being a student really is the least of a persons problems because it is a short moment of one's life. So imagine NOT being able to secure housing because you were an immigrant, you didnt' speak English, you were black, gay, in a wheelchair, or lord knows.. not as good lookin as the other people wanting the place.
That is discrimination, my friend and it is illegal. Landlords or housing providors are not allowed to discriminate on any of those basis even though you feel they would be a better tenant/roomate due to some preferences. It is a difficult debate because we have been brainwashed to believe in PRIVATE PROPERTY and that our property is ours to deny other people entrance.
The US is really good at doing testers- having Black people answer an ad for an apartment, the landlord say "it's taken" and then have a White person answer the same ad and said that "it is still available". Canada does not do such testing. We like to assume we are more tolerant, we are less racist than the United States, but Canada just conceals it better. I DO believe that US has more extremes in racism, but at least it is all out there. In Canada we have structural racism, hidden racism, concealed in such a way that we can ignore that there is still a huge income gap between whites and non whites doiing the same work, or ethnic ghettos in our housing system.
Housing is NOT like the insurance sector. You cannot judge someone based on perceived risk. So when I was posting to sublet my apartment, I was incredibly pleased to see on Craigslist a new policy on Equal Opportunity Housing. I'm really proud of Craigslist for taking this on:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/FHA.html
When making any posting on craigslist, you must comply with section 3604(c) of the Federal Fair Housing Act. This law generally prohibits stating, in any notice or ad for the sale or rental of a dwelling, a discriminatory preference based on any of the following protected categories:
Race or Color
National Origin
Religion
Sex
Familial Status (more)
Handicap / Disability (more)
The Fair Housing Act provides additional protections, and limited exceptions, that are explained in publications from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") and the Department of Justice.
HUD has issued guidance on advertising, including for roommates.
State and local laws often prohibit discrimination based on other factors (e.g. sexual orientation, age, marital status, or source of income).
You may report housing discrimination to HUD at 1-800-669-9777 , or to a fair housing advocate near you.
If you encounter a housing posting on craigslist that you believe violates the Fair Housing laws, please flag the posting as "prohibited".
In addition to penalties that may be applied by regulatory agencies, attempts to post discriminatory ads may be blocked and/or subjected to other remedial measures.
