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August 26, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Peattie, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7552, peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org Announcing: Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California Releases Report of Investigation into Discriminatory Housing Policies Related to Source of Income and Race San Rafael, CA – This month Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) released a report of their investigation into discrimination against prospective Black housing choice voucher holders in Marin, Sonoma, and Solano counties. While discrimination on the basis of a renter’s source of income has been illegal in California for some time, it was not until 2020 that these protections were extended to voucher holders – most commonly people with Section 8 vouchers – who have historically experienced barriers to housing opportunity based on their voucher status as well as membership in other protected classes. The investigation of sixty-nine (69) rental properties in the tri-county area was carried out from December 2021 through April 2022, with 27 properties in Marin County, 22 in Solano County, and 20 in Sonoma County. Trained pairs of testers – one Black, one white – posing as potential renters with housing choice vouchers, called to inquire about whether the property accepted Section 8 vouchers and, if so, whether voucher holders were required to meet a minimum income threshold in order to qualify for the unit. At over 70% of the housing providers FHANC tested, there was evidence of discrimination on the basis of race and/or source of income; with evidence of discrimination at 62% on the basis of source of income, and 42% on the basis of race. Tests conducted in Sonoma County revealed the highest incidence of race discrimination (63%) and source of income discrimination (88%), with 92% revealing at least some evidence of either or both. Housing providers in Solano County evidenced the least discrimination, with 32% of tests revealing evidence of race discrimination and 44% revealing evidence of source of income discrimination. Tests at large properties showed significantly less evidence of source of income discrimination (36%) than tests conducted at small and medium sized properties (both around 68%). Email and phone tests uncovered evidence of source of income discrimination at almost the exact same rate. “The results of our investigation plainly show that despite the recent expansion of California’s fair housing laws protecting source of income, people with housing subsidies still face significant barriers in housing,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of FHANC. “It’s clear that more enforcement actions are needed, as well as increased education and outreach to property owners and managers, particularly those of smaller properties and in areas where instances of discrimination were the highest. The fact that housing providers were willing to openly state their discriminatory voucher policies suggests that at least some may have been unaware of their legal obligations, which really points to the need for increased education and outreach.” The report makes a number of recommendations, including disseminating the report to officials in the tri-county area as well as the general public, media, and advocacy groups as an important educational tool; monitoring the sites where there was an indication of differential treatment and taking possible enforcement action; training private and public housing providers (e.g. public housing authorities) and working with them to ensure they understand the law; conducting additional audits; assessing whether a public housing authority’s payment standards are at appropriate levels and increasing search times for voucher holders given the limited housing options and barriers they face; and spreading the word to potential targets of discrimination. “It’s really difficult to find any kind of affordable housing in the Bay Area now,” said Peattie. “This report points out how much more difficult it is for someone who has a housing voucher to find a place to live – and for a Black renter with a housing voucher, it may feel impossible. We need to redouble our efforts to make sure housing providers not only understand the law but comply with it, and start removing barriers for those with housing subsidies.” If you feel you may have experienced housing discrimination, contact FHANC’s office to complete an interview. Fill out an online intake form at or contact FHANC at fhanc@fairhousingnorcal.org or call 415-457-5025 ext. 101. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure equal housing opportunity and to educate our communities on the value of diversity in our neighborhoods. FHANC serves several Bay Area counties and provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of
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August 23, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7516, julia@fairhousingnorcal.org Fair Housing Agency and Client Settle Discrimination Lawsuit Against Landlord San Rafael, CA – Over 300,000 families in California receive Housing Choice Vouchers (also known as “Section 8”) to ensure that lower-income renters can afford to live in a variety of neighborhoods, with the goal of limiting segregation and homelessness. However, to date, the voucher program has been unable to accomplish its goals in many jurisdictions due in large part to private landlords’ refusal to consider renting to people with housing vouchers. In January 2020, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act was amended to make it illegal to discriminate against or exclude tenants and applicants because they have a Section 8 voucher. Additionally, for more than 20 years, it has been illegal for most California landlords to require applicants with vouchers to meet minimum thresholds based on the entire rent rather than the portion of the rent to be paid by the tenant. Despite these laws, some landlords continue to exclude Section 8 voucher holders, either by rejecting them for tenancy altogether, or using a minimum income requirement that is impossible for a voucher holder to meet. Both of these policies and practices violate California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. Late last month, the owners of two large apartment complexes and a management company agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a case in which the plaintiffs, a fair housing agency and a prospective renter, alleged that the defendants refused to rent to Section 8 voucher holders unless they earn at least 2.5 times the entire monthly rent, even when the majority of rent is paid by the local Public Housing Authority. The payment covers damages and attorneys’ fees. Other terms of the settlement included the following:
In early 2021, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Sonoma County Superior Court alleging that the owners and the management company had refused to rent to voucher holders by using an illegal minimum income standard in at least two of their Sonoma County properties. This minimum income requirement has the effect of excluding tenants who have vouchers. The plaintiffs filed against two companies that hold title to apartment complexes located in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park and a California corporation that manages both properties as well as rental properties in 18 states, including hundreds of rental properties in California. The individual plaintiff is a recipient of a Section 8 voucher through the Sonoma County Housing Authority. In June of 2020, she found a listing for an apartment complex in Rohnert Park on the website Zillow.com and thought that it might be a good fit for her needs. She drove by the apartments, liked what she saw, and called to inquire about a unit. When she spoke with the agent, she asked if they accepted housing choice vouchers. The agent told her that they accepted vouchers, but that she would need to have an income of at least $5,000 per month, or 2.5 times the rent. She explained to the agent that if she had income in that amount, then she would not have qualified for a Housing Choice Voucher in the first place. The employee responded that the $5,000 minimum income requirement was the apartment complex’s policy. The client lodged a complaint with a local fair housing agency. In April 2020, before the individual plaintiff ever inquired about renting at this complex, the fair housing agency sent informational brochures explaining the new changes to the law to 50 housing providers and property managers in the region, including the management company named in the complaint. The informational brochure explained that rejecting rental applicants because they have a rental subsidy constitutes unlawful discrimination based on source of income. The brochure also reiterated that existing law, which has been in effect since 2000, provides that a landlord who uses a minimum income threshold for a voucher holder must calculate that threshold based on the amount of rent that will be paid by the tenant, rather than the entire rent amount. After receiving the complaint from the voucher recipient, the fair housing agency conducted an investigation in September 2020, replicating the experience of their client. An employee of the fair housing agency contacted the apartment complex posing as a prospective renter. When the employee inquired about the Section 8 policy, an agent for the building told him that they accept Section 8, but only if the applicant has an income of at least 2.5 times the rent even if the applicant has a voucher. In December 2020, an employee of the Sonoma County Housing Authority contacted the fair housing agency and reported that multiple voucher holders were rejected for tenancy by the same management company at a different apartment complex because they did not meet the building’s minimum monthly income requirement of 2.5 times the monthly rent, regardless of the amount of rent the tenant would be responsible for paying using their voucher. Based on this allegation, in January 2021, another employee of the fair housing agency called the apartment complex and the agent confirmed that the management company accepts vouchers but still requires that all applicants make a minimum of 2.5 times the full monthly rent to qualify. The fair housing agency was represented by Julia Howard-Gibbon of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California and the individual plaintiff was represented by Liza Cristol-Deman of Brancart & Brancart. “A landlord cannot reject an applicant using a minimum income requirement that is based on the entire monthly rent when the Public Housing Authority is picking up most of the tab,” said Ms. Cristol-Deman. “That has been the law in California for more than 20 years. A professional management company should know better. And California’s most vulnerable residents deserve better.” “The defendants should have been well aware of their obligation not to discriminate against voucher holders, especially given that the fair housing agency had previously sent them information about the law and how to comply with it, yet the management company still had discriminatory policies in place,” said Ms. Howard-Gibbon. “Despite the fact that in 2020, California put in place a law making it illegal to discriminate against people with housing subsidies, the agency has conducted systemic investigations that pointed to the prevalence of discriminatory policies still in place, making it clear that we must all make more effort to educate the community that discrimination against housing choice vouchers is illegal.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a non-profit organization serving several Bay Area counties that provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. May 5, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Peattie, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7552, peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org Announcing: Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California Negotiates Settlement of Disability Discrimination Complaint on Behalf of Client San Rafael, CA – Just before Fair Housing Month was celebrated in April, a settlement agreement was executed in a gender and disability discrimination complaint brought by Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) and one of its clients against Bret Andrews. The complaint, filed in February 2021 with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), alleged that Mr. Andrews discriminated against her in violation of federal, state, and local fair housing laws. The client, a Mill Valley tenant of approximately ten years, alleged that Bret Andrews sexually harassed her, retaliated against her for refusing his sexual advances, and failed to accommodate her disability on multiple occasions. She alleged that the sexual harassment was not an isolated incident, but a series of incidents over the course of years during her tenancy at Mr. Andrews’ property, and that following her rejection of his sexual advances, he began retaliating against her by communicating with her in a hostile and unprofessional manner, frustrating her efforts to get repairs. The client contacted FHANC in May 2020, seeking advice about her fair housing rights, sharing information about her disability and need for reasonable accommodations. FHANC requested reasonable accommodations on her behalf, which included a request that Mr. Andrews cease from engaging in any hostile, retaliatory, or unprofessional behavior toward her; that he contact her only via email, except in an emergency; give her reasonable notice for entry into her unit; refrain from sharing personal information about her with others; and refrain from entering her unit for any reason other than an emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic and, in the event of entry, take precautions to protect her health and safety, including social distancing and wearing a mask. The complaint against Mr. Andrews asserted that while he agreed to grant some of her reasonable accommodation requests, he failed to grant her request to cease hostile communications and continued to act in a hostile manner toward both her and FHANC’s attorney during the negotiation process, and that he violated her fair housing rights by deliberately frustrating and delaying the reasonable accommodation process by requesting extraneous and unnecessary documentation, refusing to meaningfully engage in the interactive process as required by fair housing law, and imposing unnecessary and unduly burdensome conditions before considering her requests. FHANC also filed a complaint, asserting that the agency’s resources had been diverted and its mission frustrated by Mr. Andrews’ discriminatory actions. Mediation resulted in a settlement agreement compensating FHANC’s client $60,000 and FHANC $30,000. Additionally, Mr. Andrews and all his employees and agents who have contact with residents or prospective residents at any California property he owns will attend comprehensive fair housing training with a fair housing group. In addition, he agreed not to engage in unlawful discrimination in housing. The agreement was signed by all parties in March 2022. “It was extremely unfortunate that our client had to suffer through such a difficult experience and ultimately felt forced to move out, incurring moving and other expenses, even after our intervention and our reasonable accommodation request on her behalf,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of FHANC. “Your home should be a place where you feel safe. We hope that the fair housing training that Mr. Andrews undergoes will help him better understand his boundaries as a landlord as well as his obligation when a person with a disability requests a reasonable accommodation.” FHANC’s client was represented by FHANC Housing Counselor John Froggatt, and Supervising Attorney Julia Howard-Gibbon represented FHANC. If you feel you may have experienced housing discrimination, contact FHANC’s office to complete an interview. Contact FHANC at fhanc@fairhousingnorcal.org or 415-457-5025 x101 or fill out an online intake at https://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure equal housing opportunity and to educate our communities on the value of diversity in our neighborhoods. FHANC serves several Bay Area counties and provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP PEI Grant FPEI190035. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD April 11, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Caroline Peattie / peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org Adriana Ames / adriana@fairhousingnorcal.org RE: Upcoming Virtual Fair Housing Conference 2022 On Wednesday, April 20, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) will celebrate Fair Housing Month and the anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act by presenting a virtual conference, “Investing in Our Future: Fair Housing and Race-Conscious Policies.” The presenters will address strategies and possibilities for advancing fair housing and racial equity via race-conscious housing policies, through legislative, legal, administrative, as well as media- and advocacy-driven approaches. The event will bring together community members, non-profits, advocates, real estate professionals, and municipal leaders and staff to address pressing fair housing issues affecting our communities, offering strategies to re-energize fair housing initiatives. The conference will be moderated by Jorge Andres Soto, Associate Vice President of Advocacy & Government Affairs at the National Fair Housing Alliance, and will feature the following speakers and subjects:
Panelists for the Appraisal Discrimination session include Paul Austin and Dominique Colon (FHANC Clients) and Liza Cristol-Deman (Attorney at Law, Brancart & Brancart). General admission is $25, with scholarships available upon request. Visit FHANC’s conference page for more information, including presenters’ bios, or to register for the event: https://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/fairhousingconference2022.html For more information, to request a scholarship, or for any special needs, contact Adriana Ames, Education Director, at adriana@fairhousingnorcal.org. The conference is presented by Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California and sponsored by: Mechanics Bank, Marin Community Foundation, California Association of Realtors, First Federal Savings and Loan, Westamerica Bank, Marin Association of Realtors, Marin Sanitary Service, and Marin Interfaith Council. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP EOI Grant FEOI210037. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD. Founded as a non-profit in 1986, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) serves several Bay Area counties, providing fair housing counseling, investigation, intervention, and legal referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. FHANC conducts outreach activities and offers programs that educate the community about fair housing and the value of diversity, conducts trainings for housing providers, and offers pre-purchase and foreclosure prevention counseling and education. FHANC is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please contact FHANC at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800 )735-2922 for more information, or visit www.fairhousingnorcal.org. Se habla español. Wheelchair accessible. In the News:
February 7, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Peattie, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7552, peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California and Other Fair Housing Groups Reach Historic Settlement with Fannie Mae Focused on Rebuilding Communities of Color The settlement will directly and immediately benefit the communities of color throughout the Richmond, Oakland, and Vallejo areas and nationwide hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis and its aftermath. San Rafael, CA — Today, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC), along with the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 19 other local fair housing organizations throughout the country, reached a landmark $53 million agreement with Fannie Mae (formally known as the Federal National Mortgage Association) to resolve a case arising from allegations that Fannie Mae treated foreclosed homes in communities of color unfavorably. The settlement will help rebuild and strengthen communities of color in 39 metropolitan areas including the metro area of Vallejo – Solano County – as well as the metro area of Richmond and Oakland. In the case, FHANC and the other plaintiffs alleged that Fannie Mae maintained and marketed its foreclosed homes in predominantly White neighborhoods while allowing similar homes in communities of color to fall into disrepair and that this differential treatment exacerbated the damage caused by the 2008 mortgage crisis and impeded recovery from the crisis in neighborhoods of color. The case was the first time a federal court confirmed the nation’s fair housing laws cover the maintenance and marketing of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties. “I am really pleased that we have been able to settle this case so we can begin to apply settlement funds toward the revitalization of the Vallejo, Richmond, and Oakland communities,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. “We poured a lot of time and effort into investigating the differences between the marketing and maintenance of foreclosed homes in communities of color compared to White communities, because we knew how big an impact this can have on the health and well-being – financial and otherwise – of neighborhoods with foreclosed properties. We are excited that Fannie Mae has made the commitments it has in this settlement and are looking forward to the positive changes the settlement funds can make in the areas of Solano County, Richmond, and Oakland, as well as the other metro areas across the country.” The plaintiffs’ 2016 allegations against Fannie Mae arose after a comprehensive, four-year investigation of more than 2,300 Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed properties in 39 metropolitan areas in the country. Of those properties, 68 were located in Vallejo and other Solano County cities and towns, and 88 in the Richmond/Oakland area. The plaintiffs collected more than 49,000 photographs revealing poorly maintained properties in Black and Latino communities, particularly as compared to properties in predominantly White neighborhoods. Today’s agreement has far-reaching implications. FHANC and the other plaintiffs will invest the vast majority of the settlement monies directly back into the communities they allege were harmed by Fannie Mae’s conduct. Specifically, plaintiff organizations will use over $35 million of the settlement to promote home ownership, neighborhood stabilization, access to credit, property rehabilitation, and residential development in the 39 metropolitan areas at issue in the case. The plaintiffs will manage and disburse the settlement funds, providing much-needed grants, including for down-payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers and renovations for homes that languished in foreclosure. The grants will also include innovative programs and partnerships to promote fair housing. Fannie Mae implemented practices that will help avoid similar harmful treatment of communities of color in the future, including increasing its oversight of maintenance of properties it owns, prioritizing owner-occupants rather than investors as purchasers of REOs, and ensuring that it complies with fair housing laws, including by providing fair housing training to its employees and vendors. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California and the other fair housing groups are represented by noted civil rights law firms Relman Colfax PLLC and Dane Law LLC. The organizations were also represented by Morgan Williams, NFHA’s General Counsel, and Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. ### About Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a non-profit organization serving several Bay Area counties that provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: The work that provided the basis for this investigation was supported in part by funding under grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2022 Media Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org Groundbreaking Report Identifies Bias and Systemic Barriers in Real Estate Appraisals The federally-funded report produced by the National Fair Housing Alliance and its partners raises serious concerns about the standards and criteria related to the appraisal of residential real estate, which often represents a family’s largest asset. Washington, D.C. — Racial discrimination in home appraisals continues to affect Black and Latino homeowners throughout our country, and a new federally-commissioned report from the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) identifies recommendations to address this crisis. Documented instances of appraisal discrimination along racial lines in California, Florida, Colorado, Indiana, and other areas are reflective of practices that restrict housing and lending access for families of color nationwide. Conducted by NFHA, Dane Law LLC, and the Christensen Law Firm (the “NFHA Consortium”), the “Appraisal Standards and Appraiser Criteria report” is the most comprehensive review of bias in the appraisal industry to date, and it presents a roadmap for Congress, regulators, advocates, and the industry to address the nation’s long legacy of bias in the valuation of real estate and build a future in which a family’s most valuable asset is treated fairly. The comprehensive and independent review by the NFHA Consortium was commissioned by the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and managed by the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation. The goals of the report included an assessment of whether the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (“Appraisal Standards”) and Appraiser Qualifications Criteria (“Appraiser Criteria”) encourage or systemize bias and that both consistently support or promote fairness, equity, objectivity and diversity in both appraisals and the training and credentialing of appraisers. “Our report details a comprehensive analysis of structural challenges in Appraisal Standards and Appraiser Criteria that impacts every homeowner in the U.S.,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of NFHA. “It also highlights the deep inequities and systemic issues of bias in the appraisal industry that restricts homeownership and important lending opportunities for people of color. While we’ve done the work of identifying the obstacles and outlining a number of fixes, we call on federal regulators, Congress, the industry, and fellow advocates to work together to enact the meaningful changes called for in our report. Any entity with a role in the appraisal process has a responsibility to help address these inequalities.” The report’s recommendations are outlined below: Governance of the Appraisal Industry
Gaps in Fair Housing Requirements and Training
Barriers to Entry to the Appraisal Profession
Compliance and Enforcement
Click here to read ASC’s statement on the report. Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the Appraisal Study Overview. For years, NFHA has led the fight against racism and other forms of discrimination in home appraisals. In February 2021, NFHA called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to address the specific issues in appraisal policy that cause race-based discrimination. ### The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for over 200 fair housing and justice-centered organizations throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities. Click here to read about this case "In the News":
December 2, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Peattie, Executive Director, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7552, peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org Julia Howard-Gibbon, Supervising Attorney, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7516, julia@fairhousingnorcal.org Discrimination Lawsuits Filed Alleging Race Discrimination in Home Appraisal Process San Rafael, CA – Today, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC), Tenisha Tate-Austin, and Paul Austin announce the filing of a fair housing lawsuit in federal district court alleging housing discrimination due to race in the appraisal process. The named defendants are Janette Miller, a licensed real estate appraiser; Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisals, Inc.; and AMC Links LLC, an appraisal management company. The complaint can be found here. In December 2016, Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin, a Black couple, purchased a house in Marin County, California and moved into their house with their children. After spending thousands of dollars on renovations that increased the square footage of the house and upgraded many features, and beginning renovations on an accessory dwelling unit, they decided to refinance their mortgage in 2020. Janette Miller was hired through AMC Links LLC to inspect the Austins’ house and prepare an appraisal report. She appraised the Austins’ house at $995,000. Suspecting that their race and the racial demographics of the unincorporated area known as Marin City – where their house is located – played a role in the appraiser’s surprisingly low estimate of value, the Austins had a second appraisal completed three weeks after the first appraisal inspection by a different appraiser. In this appraisal, the Austins erased any evidence of their racial identities inside their house, removing family photos and African-themed art. Their white friend, who replaced the Austins’ family photos with photos of her own family, was the only person present during the second inspection. That appraisal came back with a value of $1,482,500, nearly half a million dollars higher than Ms. Miller’s estimate. “We believe that Ms. Miller valued our house at a lower rate because of our race and because of the current and historical racial demographics of where our house is located,” said Paul Austin. “The sales comps that the appraiser chose to use were unsuitable and were guaranteed to lower the value of our house.” “Unfortunately, the Austins are not alone in their experience,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of FHANC. “Discrimination in the appraisal process is something we’ve been seeing more frequently, probably because there has been more attention paid to this issue, and more homeowners of color are coming forward when they receive an unfair appraisal, particularly when it results in their loan being denied. There are studies that show that Black and Latinx applicants are more likely than white applicants to receive an appraisal value lower than the contract price of a home. These studies show that appraisers choose comparisons (comps) of other property sales located substantially closer to the property being appraised if it’s located in a Black or Latinx census tract than if it’s located in a white census tract – so we know that appraisers still view neighborhoods, and relevant comps, based on racial demographics. We believe that this is exactly what happened with the Austins’ appraisal.” The complaint maintains that using comparisons of other property sales located exclusively or primarily in Marin City results in a skewed and race-based valuation of the property, because selecting comps from areas that have been historically devalued by discrimination perpetuates and exacerbates the undervaluation of Black-owned homes in Black neighborhoods. In order to reach an unbiased estimate of value, the complaint asserts, it is necessary to look outside of Marin City, particularly because Marin City has a very small number of property sales every year – most of which were not comparable to the Austins’ house. In addition, the complaint asserts that it was improper and discriminatory for Miller to decrease her estimated value of the Austins’ house based solely on its location in Marin City. Additionally, Ms. Miller’s market analysis of Marin City speaks only to market trends before the 2007 recession and ends at 2008, with no analysis of recent trends. Her appraisal notes that “during 2008… many communities in the Bay Area began to feel the effects of tightening credit and deteriorating economic conditions.” However, she uses a different period of time for her market analysis of Sausalito, noting increasing home values in the city since 2014. She writes, “values [in the City of Sausalito] have increased since 2014 with a recent stabilization of values as evidenced by MLS year-end data for all residential properties sold.” These outdated analyses of market trends resulted in, or improperly justified, a lower estimated value for the Austin’s house than was warranted. Ms. Miller’s analysis relies heavily on Marin City comps – three of the five were from Marin City – even though one was a bank-owned property sold in foreclosure two years before and another was an attached dwelling that was contained within a planned unit development. In contrast, eight properties were chosen as comps for the second appraisal three weeks later, of which only two were located in Marin City, while the other six were located in the City of Sausalito, which shares a school district with Marin City. The complaint maintains that Ms. Miller’s choices of comps indicate racial bias and point to a deeper and more systemic issue in the appraisal process – the practice of considering demographic characteristics of a neighborhood rather than relying only on physical home and neighborhood characteristics other than race. This disproportionately and negatively affects Black people, the complaint asserts, because neighborhoods of color have been historically undervalued due to deliberate racist housing policies, such as redlining. Marin City is an unincorporated community located in Marin County, situated between the cities of Sausalito to the south and Mill Valley to the north. Properties located in Marin City have a Sausalito mailing address. According to the U.S. Census, as of July 2019, Marin County’s population was 85.3% white, 2.8% Black, 6.6% Asian, and 16.3% Latino. The County’s Black residents are overwhelmingly concentrated in two census tracts, one of which is in Marin City, and Black residents still accounted for approximately 35.95% of Marin City’s population as of 2019, while the City of Sausalito is 92.2% white, and Blacks comprise only 0.9% of Sausalito’s population. Workforce housing was built in Marin City during World War II to house workers who came to the area from around the country to work in the shipyards as part of the war effort. Though the housing was integrated, after the war, many white residents moved away. Black families were blocked from doing so because of discriminatory practices such as redlining and restrictive covenants. “Home buyers generally cannot obtain a mortgage, and homeowners cannot refinance a mortgage, without getting an appraisal,” said Caroline Peattie. “Yet neighborhoods of color have been historically undervalued due to deliberate racist housing policies, such as redlining. This ongoing undervaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods is, in effect, present-day redlining, and continues to widen the wealth gap between Black and white families.” The Austins succeeded in getting a loan based on the second appraisal in March 2020, but the damage was done – they were not able to refinance on the favorable terms that had been available a month earlier. “We missed out on a better interest rate because of the unfair appraisal we received. And to prove that our civil rights had been violated, we had to erase who we were, by having our white friend pose as the homeowner and hiding the things in our home that represent who we are.” said Tenisha Tate-Austin. “Even worse, these discriminatory practices have the effect of lowering property values in Marin City which harms us and harms our community.” “I really hope that this lawsuit makes appraisers and lenders start to look more carefully at their practices and policies,” said Paul Austin. “And I really want people to know that there are organizations that can help support them if they have a discrimination complaint. We feel that litigating this case is not only important for us but for our community as well.” The Austins and FHANC are represented by counsel Julia Howard-Gibbon of FHANC and Liza Cristol-Deman of Brancart & Brancart. If you feel you may have been discriminated against in a recent home appraisal, contact FHANC’s office to complete an interview. Contact FHANC at fhanc@fairhousingnorcal.org or 415-457-5025 x101. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a non-profit organization serving several Bay Area counties that provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP PEI Grant FPEI190035. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD. October 27, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Caroline Peattie, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (415) 483-7552, peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org Announcing: Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California Negotiates Settlement of Disability Discrimination Complaint on Behalf of Client San Rafael, CA – On October 4, 2021, a settlement agreement was executed in a disability discrimination complaint brought by Lucia Gillis, who was represented by Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC), against the Suisun City Housing Authority. The complaint, filed in April 2021 with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and mediated through DFEH’s Dispute Resolution Division, alleged that the respondents discriminated against Ms. Gillis’ minor and disabled son in violation of federal, state, and local fair housing laws. Ms. Gillis is a single mother of two minor sons. One of her children lives with intellectual and mental health disabilities and requires a full-time caregiver to manage symptoms. Her family had previously been granted a voucher that accommodated her family’s needs. The discriminatory conduct occurred when her family moved to the City of Suisun, where the Suisun City Housing Authority (the Housing Authority) refused to issue a new voucher that would accommodate Ms. Gillis’ disabled son or his live-in attendant. The complaint alleged that the Housing Authority discriminated against Ms. Gillis’ disabled son, by interfering with his fair housing rights and for failing to accommodate his disability. The Housing Authority stated that existing policies prevented Ms. Gillis’ family from receiving the accommodation, despite her having provided medical documentation of their disability-related housing needs. Mediations resulted in a settlement agreement in which the Housing Authority paid Ms. Gillis $75,000. Additionally, the Housing Authority will modify policies and practices to come into compliance with the FairHousing Act, including:
The agreement was unanimously approved by the Suisun City Council on September 21, 2021. “It was extremely unfortunate that Ms. Gillis lost her voucher because the Suisun Housing Authority did not grant her reasonable accommodation request,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of FHANC. “Nevertheless, we are encouraged by the settlement and the willingness of the Suisun City Council to enter into a settlement agreement to do right by Ms. Gillis. We think the fair housing training that staff will undergo will help the housing authority better understand their obligation when a person with a disability requests a reasonable accommodation.” Ms. Gillis was represented by FHANC Staff Attorney Ursula Lindsey. “I was upset after experiencing discrimination," said Ms. Gillis. "When the Housing Authority ignored my family's accommodation requests, I was afraid we would be homeless. I turned to prayer, which gave me strength. FHANC helped me fight for my rights. I'm so thankful that Ursula Lindsey was there to advise me and advocate for our family.” If you feel you may have been discriminated against, contact FHANC’s office to complete an interview. Contact FHANC at fhanc@fairhousingnorcal.org or 415-457-5025 x101. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure equal housing opportunity and to educate our communities on the value of diversity in our neighborhoods. FHANC serves several Bay Area counties and provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information. Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP PEI Grant FPEI190035. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD. July 21, 2021
RE: Report on Fair Housing Investigation Uncovers National Origin and Source ofIncome Discrimination5/28/2021 April 26, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Caroline Peattie / peattie@fairhousingnorcal.org RE: Report on Fair Housing Investigation Uncovers National Origin and Source of Income Discrimination As Fair Housing Month draws to a close, and Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) gears up for its annual Fair Housing Conference on Thursday, April 29 (“Riding the Wave of Change: Advancing Fair Housing and Equity in a New Era,”), it is releasing its report of an investigation conducted in 2020, “National Origin and Source of Income Discrimination in Rental Housing in Marin, Sonoma, and Solano Counties.” The investigation was conducted after California SB329 – amending the Fair Employment and Housing Act to expand the definition of source of income to include federal, state, and local public assistance and housing subsidies – went into effect on January 1, 2020. The investigation followed a prior audit in 2018-2019 that assessed the extent to which Housing Choice Voucher holders experienced race discrimination, and was conducted prior to the state law going into effect. The investigation revealed a high level of discrimination, where 67% of tests showed at least some level of discrimination based on race and/or source of income. “Given how much race and source of income discrimination we found with our earlier investigation, we wanted to see the extent to which Latinx Housing Choice Voucher holders experience discrimination or differential treatment in the initial stages of their home seeking process, based on their voucher status or their national origin,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of FHANC. “We know from our clients that many landlords turn away voucher holders, but we wanted to see to what extent this occurred, and whether it was a pretext for discouraging Latinx renters.” FHANC conducted 139 individual investigations, 48 in Marin County, 46 in Solano County, and 45 in Sonoma County. The investigation revealed housing providers discriminated on the basis of national origin and/or source of income in approximately seventy-nine percent (79%) of the time. Of the tests revealing discrimination, 55% were based on source of income, 13% were based on both source of income and national origin, and 11% were based on national origin. Examples of the types of discrimination that investigators encountered included outright refusal to rent to voucher holders; discriminatory policies (like minimum income requirement) that effectively prohibit voucher holders from renting at the property; and/or inferior terms/conditions and general treatment to Latinx voucher holders as compared to white (non- Latinx) voucher holders. “What is particularly problematic about this result is the high rate of discrimination against voucher holders that occurred even after the passage of SB329,” said Peattie. “And though our investigation in Marin County revealed the lowest levels of discrimination at 71% in the tricounty area, that’s still extremely high, particularly considering that local source of income protections had been in place since 2016 in the County and 2018 in various cities and towns. The investigation shows that it’s still very difficult for someone with a housing subsidy to find a place to live, and it becomes that much harder for a voucher holder who is Latinx.” As a result of follow-up investigation and after receiving a complaint from a client who had been effectively denied from renting because she had a housing voucher, FHANC recently filed a lawsuit against a management company and the owners of two buildings in Sonoma County for having a minimum income policy that – while neutral on its face as applied to voucher holders – has the effect of denying them the ability to rent at the property, despite management’s assurances that they accept vouchers. “It’s not enough just to pass legislation,” said Peattie. “That’s the first, most important step. But our results point to the need for further education, as well as follow-up investigation and enforcement activity to ensure that landlords understand the laws and are held accountable when they deliberately violate them. To that end we’ve sent flyers with information about the law to properties where we found discrimination. And we’re undertaking further investigations to retest some of the properties. But we need to go further with legislation, too.” Only twelve states and the District of Columbia outlaw discrimination on the basis of source of income. The Biden administration, in a swift reversal from the previous administration, signaled fair housing and racial equity as priorities in its first week. This month, President Biden pledged to restore two Obama-era fair housing rules that had been scrapped under the Trump administration. One, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, requires local governments receiving federal housing dollars to review their policies and actively work toward reversing segregation. “Protections against source of income discrimination are crucial in order to affirmatively furthering fair housing, because it helps stem the tide of displacement and gentrification,” Peattie continued. “We undertook this investigation and the previous one to uncover the extent to which people with housing subsidies, particularly people of color with housing subsidies, experienced barriers to housing choice. We now have a sense of just how great those impediments are, despite local and state protections. This shows how important it is for the federal government to make source of income discrimination illegal across the country, so that the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity can put its full strength toward enforcing the law, furthering housing opportunities for people of color, families with children, people with disabilities, and others. It would be a fitting tribute to Walter Mondale, who passed away earlier this month, and who co-authored the Fair Housing Act of 1968 with Senator Ed Brooke.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: This material is based on work supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under FHIP EOI Grant FEOI20012. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of HUD. Founded as a non-profit in 1986, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) serves several Bay Area counties, providing fair housing counseling, investigation, intervention, and legal referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. FHANC conducts outreach activities and offers programs that educate the community about fair housing and the value of diversity, conducts trainings for housing providers, and offers pre-purchase and foreclosure prevention counseling and education. FHANC is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please contact FHANC at (415) 457-5025 or TDD: (800) 735-2922 for more information or visit www.fairhousingnorcal.org. Se habla español. |
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