Real Estate: Equal Opportunity for All

By Nicole Foster, Broker/ REALTOR

April is Fair Housing Month, and it serves as a time for increased awareness of anti-discriminatory laws as applied to housing including mortgage lending, rental, sales, appraisal, and insurance of property. The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) believes that “equal access to housing and homeowner opportunity is the cornerstone of the nation’s federal housing policy”. HUD enforces illegal discrimination and “intimidation in people’s homes, apartment buildings, and condominium developments ~in nearly all housing transactions, including the rental and sale of housing and the provision of mortgage loans”.

The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 (amended in 1988) prohibits inequitable treatment in the financing, sale or rental of housing based on race or color, national origin or ancestry, religion, sex, familial status and physical or mental disability. In the state of Maine the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA enforced by the Maine Human Rights Commission) recognizes sexual orientation including gender identity or expression, those in receipt of public assistance and those who are experiencing retaliation for exercising their MHRA rights as protected classes, as well.

In the sale and rental of property no one may take prohibited actions against a protected class including refusing to negotiate, rent or sell housing, denying a dwelling or make housing unavailable or falsely deny that housing is available for rental, sale or inspection. No one can provide different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling or provide different services or facilities. Real estate agents may not try to persuade people to sell or rent dwellings by suggesting that a protected class have moved or will be moving into a neighborhood which is categorized as “blockbusting” and cannot try to influence a buyer's areas of interest based on protected characteristics otherwise known as the practice of “steering.”

Agents also cannot limit access or participation in services such as the multiple listing service (MLS).Mortgage lenders cannot refuse to make a mortgage loan, refuse to provide loan information, impose different interest rates, points or fees, discriminate when appraising a property, refuse to purchase a loan or set different terms or conditions for doing so. It is also illegal to refuse to provide homeowners insurance coverage or to discriminate in the terms and conditions when providing a policy for a dwelling because of being a protected class. It is illegal to make, print or publish advertising for a property which indicates a preference, limitation or discriminates against a protected class.

All REALTORS must adhere to Article 10 in the Code of Ethics prohibiting discrimination of any protected class. As REALTORS we are required to not share our personal opinion about the quality of school systems, neighborhood safety or demographics and instead share reliable sources of information and data. It is our responsibility as REALTORS to follow the instructions of our clients by sharing personal letters written to sellers which accompany an offer if instructed to after sharing with our clients what potential Fair Housing violation risks may exist by providing or learning about characteristics or details which may be protected under the Fair Housing Act.

Each year thousands of “testers” are employed by HUD and sent out by various housing organizations to view for sale and rental properties to assess whether landlords, lenders and agents are treating protected classes differently. Practitioners are encouraged to collaborate with their local regulatory agencies to help demystify compliance and to “reflect, repair and renew” by taking a closer look at our own stereotypical thinking to help understand bias.

If you feel that you’ve experienced discrimination or think your rights have been violated then report directly to the HUD Regional Office by emailing Complaints_office_01@hud.gov or by calling (617) 994-8300 or 1-800-827-5005 within 300 days of the alleged violation. After you contact HUD they will help you to file a complaint then provide you with written confirmation that your complaint has been accepted and they will contact the respondent and allow time for their response. After, they will investigate and if they are unable to complete their investigation within 100 days of filing your complaint will provide a reason in writing.

You may also file a complaint with both agencies by contact with the Maine Human Rights Commission who can help submit your complaint to the HUD office by calling 207-624-8729 or initiating an Electronic Intake Form by going online to: https://mainehumanrightscommission.formstack.com/forms/intakes .

It is likely that we will see an increase in reported violations with rising tensions and an uptick in immigration populations. These laws went into effect 7 days after the assassination of Martin Luther King over 50 years ago now. We must continue to build on this important work by setting a strong example of what practices and conversations are acceptable by using the Fair Housing Act as our framework. <

Nicole Foster is a Windham parent and real estate broker with 18 years of experience. Contact her at nicole@locationsinmaine.com or by calling 207-615-7558.