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 2012 Fair Housing Trends Report
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April 30, 2012 - The nation’s private non-profit fair housing organizations investigated 65 percent of the 27,092 housing discrimination complaints filed across the nation in 2011, a new report from the National Fair Housing Alliance shows. On a shoestring budget, these organizations are the first line of defense against illegal housing discrimination. The report – Fair Housing in a Changing Nation – discusses emerging fair housing trends affecting our country. As the nation moves closer to becoming a society in which people of color are the majority, systemic discrimination continues to curtail the housing choice of millions of people because of illegal bias based on race, national origin, color, disability, sex, familial status, religion, sexual orientation, source of income and other protected classes.
To read NFHA's 2012 Fair Housing Trends report, click here.
To read NFHA's press release about the report, click here.
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| FAIR HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS FILE DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT AGAINST U.S. BANK
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National Fair Housing Alliance Alleges Discrimination in Marketing and Maintenance of Foreclosed Properties
APRIL 17, 2012 – Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and four of its member organizations announced a federal housing discrimination complaint against U.S. Bancorp and U.S. Bank National Bank Association. This complaint, which was filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is the result of an undercover investigation of U.S. Bank’s properties that found that its foreclosed properties in White areas are much better maintained and marketed than its properties in African-American and Latino neighborhoods.
To view the news conference presentation, click here.
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| CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS FILE FAIR HOUSING COMPLAINT AGAINST WELLS FARGO
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National Fair Housing Alliance Alleges Discrimination in Marketing and Maintenance of Foreclosed Properties
APRIL 10, 2012 - Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and four of its member organizations announced a federal housing discrimination complaint against Wells Fargo & Co. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. This complaint, which will be filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is a result of an undercover investigation of bank-owned properties, which found foreclosed properties in White areas much better maintained and marketed by Wells Fargo than those in neighborhoods of color.
To view the news conference presentation, click here.
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 Civil Rights Organizations uncover Discrimination by banks in treatment of foreclosed properties
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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and four of its local member organizations announced the results of an undercover investigation into the ways the nation’s financial institutions are failing to maintain and market Real Estate Owned (REO) properties in African-American and Latino neighborhoods. The investigation of REO properties in nine major U.S. cities found striking incidents of discrimination in the care and maintenance of properties, with foreclosed properties in White areas being much better maintained and marketed than those in neighborhoods of color.
A report of the investigation, “The Banks Are Back, Our Neighborhoods Are Not: Discrimination in the Maintenance and Marketing of REO Properties,” was released today. It details the results of the evaluation of more than 1,000 REO properties located in and around Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Dallas, TX; Dayton, OH; Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL; Oakland/Richmond/Concord, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; and Washington, DC.
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| NFHA and HUD Launch Media Campaign to Fight Housing Discrimination
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NFHA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have launched a new series of radio and print public service advertisements (PSAs). The advertisements are designed to teach individuals and families how to recognize and report discrimination in housing because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status and disability, including discrimination in mortgage lending because of issues related to pregnancy and/or parental leave.
To read more about media campaign, click here.
To view PSAs, click here.
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| Latest News From NFHA
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| NFHA Files Amicus Brief in U.S. Supreme Court Case on Disparate Impact
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The National Fair Housing Alliance filed an amicus brief in Magner, et al. v. Gallagher, et al., in which the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act and whether a lower court correctly applied the burden-shifting standard in analyzing the disparate impact claim. NFHA partnered with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers in filing the amicus brief. NFHA and its trade industry partners outline how the availability of disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act is a keystone in combating discrimination in the housing market.
To read NFHA's amicus brief on the disparate impact issue, click here.
To read the amicus brief submitted by former HUD officials including former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, click here
To read all amici submitted, click here
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| NFHA Comments to HUD's Proposed Regulation on Disparate Impact
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The National Fair Housing Alliance supports the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to establish standards for determining when a housing practice with a discriminatory effect violates the Fair Housing Act. HUD has requested comments on the issue of which party bears the burden of proof to establish a less discriminatory alternative. NFHA suggest that the burden of proof be assigned to the defendant or respondent to show that there is no less discriminatory alternative. Joining NFHA’s comments are 85 fair housing and national civil rights and housing nonprofit organizations, including the NAACP and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
To read NFHA's comments on HUD's proposed disparate impact regulation, click here.
To read Connecticut Fair Housing Center's comments on HUD's proposed disparate impact regulation, click here.
To read Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence's comments on HUD's proposed disparate impact regulation, click here.
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 NFHA Blogs & Opinions
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| NFHA presents Issue Brief
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The Promise of the Fair Housing Act and the Role of Fair Housing Organizations discusses how private non-profit organizations play a critical role in combatting the millions of incidents of housing discrimination that occur each year throughout the United States. Education, investigation, and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, which was enacted in the aftermath of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, are handled largely by such organizations.
To read the brief click here
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| Tell the CFPB Your Story
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created a new mortgage complaint system feature to assist distressed borrowers. The Bureau is offering borrowers the chance to explain in detailed narrative their specific mortgage issues. For more information visit www.consumerfinance.gov
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| Predatory Lending
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Helping Consumers Fight Predatory Lending
 NFHA's public education campaign provides consumers with the information they need and the right questions to ask mortgage lenders when they are navigating the loan process.
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| An Investigation of Loan Modification Companies
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The National Fair Housing Alliance and three of its member agencies - the Connecticut Fair Housing Center in Hartford, CT, Miami Valley Fair Housing Center in Dayton, OH and Housing Opportunities Made Equal in Richmond, VA - conducted an investigation of more than 150 companies suspected of being scammers based on information from their website and initial contact with company representatives. The investigation found a mortgage loan modification market that is rife with corrupt practices and our findings are detailed in the report, "Have I got a Deal For You! An undercover investigation of mortgage loan modification scams."
To read the NFHA's mortgage loan modification scam report, click here
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| 2012 UPCOMING EVENTS
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| Shut Out, Priced Out and Segregated
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Shut Out, Priced Out and Segregated: The Need for Fair Housing for People with Disabilities in Georgia examines the barriers people with disabilities face in housing and offers recommendations for improving the stock of accessible housing. The report was produced by Metro Fair Housing Services, Inc. with major support from A.G. Spanos Companies, one of the largest builders of multi-family housing in the nation, as part of a settlement with NFHA, Metro Fair Housing Services, Inc. and other plaintiffs. The report focuses on the state of Georgia, but most of its findings are relevant to communities throughout the nation. Please use this resource to advance the work of fair housing for people with disabilities.
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