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| WA State FAIR HOUSING UPDATE: January 2007 |
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Does manager Rocky have to display the fair housing logo in his rental ads or a fair housing poster in his rental office? In most jurisdictions, fair housing posters and logos are not required, but displaying them in your advertisements or in your common areas and leasing offices is a great way to show that your housing facility complies with fair housing laws. Many housing providers use the Equal Housing Opportunity logo to show that they do business in compliance with fair housing laws. Free posters are available from the fair housing agencies for each jurisdiction. The Equal Housing Opportunity symbol is available online at www.hud.gov/library/bookshelf15/hudgraphics/fheologo.cfm. Note that in the city of Seattle, there is an ordinance requiring that fair housing posters be posted (SMC 14.08.015 Seattle Open Housing Poster), which reads in part: "All persons required to post a fair housing poster … shall also post a Seattle Open Housing Poster at the same locations required in the federal regulation. A person who fails to post a Seattle Open Housing Poster as required in this section is subject to a fine of $125 for a first violation and a fine of $500 for each subsequent violation. The Seattle Open Housing Poster shall provide a notice that it is illegal in the City of Seattle to discriminate against any person because of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, political ideology, participation in a section 8 program, the presence of any disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a disabled person…." Manager June King requires that applicants show her a photo ID before viewing an apartment. Is this discriminatory? Some housing providers have established a policy of requesting identification from prospective applicants, either for safety reasons or to verify identity. Fair housing laws do not prohibit such a practice as long as it is applied consistently to all applicants. The practice becomes illegal when used because of an applicant's protected class. For example, requiring ID only from African American males would be discriminatory. Keep in mind that requiring a specific form of photo ID, such as a driver's license, may have a disproportionately adverse effect on members of a protected class since certain people with disabilities or from other countries may not have driver's licenses. For an online list of documents that will help you determine an applicant's identity, past rental history, credit history or ability to pay rent, see www.metrokc.gov/dias/ocre/100QsappB.htm. Partners Clarice and Karen are concerned about their neighbor, Jeb, who has called them derogatory names and shouted "Dykes move out!" from his balcony. They report this to the manager, who talks with Jeb, but his behavior continues. What should the manager do? Sexual orientation is a fair housing protected class in Washington state, the City of Seattle, City of Tacoma and unincorporated King County. Clarice and Karen have a right to enjoy their housing without being subjected to such harassment. Responding to tenant on tenant harassment is a very difficult and sensitive issue. It is useful to have an established antiharassment policy that addresses tenant-on-tenant harassment. Housing providers should develop such a policy, which explains that harassment will be met with progressive action, up to and including eviction. You can obtain a sample policy by contacting King County Office of Civil Rights (or see the policy online at www.metrokc.gov/dias/ocre/sample1.htm). Managers should take immediate action to stop harassment based on protected class. When a tenant complains about harassment, a manager should conduct a thorough investigation, keep in contact with the complainging resident, and if the investigation reveals harassment, take appropriate steps to stop such harassment. Finally, monitor for retaliation against any person involved in the filing or investigation of a complaint of discriminatory harassment or intimidation. Management staff should deal with retaliation by the alleged harasser in the same manner. Patrick McDougall, Said Al-Rahman and Tyrell Jackson all sent same-day e-mails to the Clearwater Apartments inquiring about rental openings, but each received different responses. Is that discriminatory? A study used this scenario for 1100 housing tests in L.A., where the only information provided about the applicants in the e-mails was their names. A positive response was an e-mail saying that the apartment was still open, or an invitation to come view the property. A negative response was a reply that the apartment had already been rented, or the lack of a reply at all. The fictional McDougall received positive or encouraging replies from 89% of the landlords. Even though the 9-11 incident occurred during the testing, Al-Rahman was encouraged by 66% of the landlords, and there was no difference in the percentages before and after 9-11. However, only 56% responded positively to Jackson, and he was the only one to get any responses directly questioning whether he could really afford the apartment. The study showed little difference between apartments that were privately or corporately owned, and the amount of rent made no difference in the outcome. The study's authors noted that "names are powerful indicators of who we are. They may disclose our religious affiliation, sex, social position, ethnic background, tribal affiliation and even age. … It's sad when you only have a 50-50 chance of even seeing an apartment if your name happens to be Tyrell Jackson." Under fair housing laws, it is illegal to take an applicant's race into account when making rental decisions. In a situation like this one, a fair housing agency would likely decide to conduct its own "test" in which applicants have black- and white-sounding names to see if they were treated the same way. If not, this would be strong evidence of discrimination. KCOCR Fair Housing Home Page Your comments about this Web site Updated: Jan. 12, 2006 King County | DES | OCR | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute
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