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Federal Fair Housing Act”

06.24.2009 · Posted in Home and Garden Articles

An important social change of the twentieth century was the legislative accomplishments of the civil rights movement. During the 1950s and 1960s legislative debates occurred concerning an individuals rights in the disposition of property and the right to conduct business freely, despite discriminatory mannerisms. The issue of equality and freedom for all despite race, ancestry, racial origin, or religion, opposes the preceding statement (Lockard, 1968).nnPublic housing is government owned and operated housing projects. In 1939, New York State initiated the first law for a nondiscriminatory standard concerning public housing projects. However, the nondiscriminatory public housing law did not extend itself into private housing until 22 years later in 1961 (Lockard, 1968).nnThe federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 extended itself to laws concerning all housing projects, public and private, prohibiting nondiscriminatory actions. In 1957, New York City initiated the nations first fair housing ordinance. Thereafter, the ordinance became a model for municipal ordinances and state laws. Originally, the ordinance covered housing developments and multiple unit projects. The federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 extended nondiscriminatory laws to all areas of real estate, public and private (Robison, 1968).nnBy 1968, the federal Fair Housing Act prohibited individuals to lease, rent, or sell property with discriminatory regulations in property deeds, or in rental agreements. A business could not refuse accommodations to an individual based on ancestry, color, race, national origin, or religion (Housing and Home Finance Agency [HHFA] 1964:287) (Collins, 2006). nnIn 1968, administrative agencies were not seeking out discriminatory practices, but ensuring complaints of such practices were dealt by nondiscriminatory standards. Fair housing laws were enforced by state-level administrative agencies responding to individual complaints (Collins, 2006).nnThe procedure for addressing discrimination complaints by administrative agencies was handled through an investigation. When the investigation brought evidence of discrimination, then the alleged discriminatory party was asked to adjust his or her practices to a non-discriminatory manner (Collins, 2006).nnIndividuals could refuse to adhere to fair housing laws. In this case, public hearings were held for persons who refused to comply with the anti discriminatory standards. A fine would be administered or the revocation of a real estate license, if an individual or business was proven to be operating under discrimination of race, color, religion, ancestry, or national origin (Collins, 2006).nnDiscrimination complaints were withheld at state-level. In these cases, state laws did supersede the federal laws. To illustrate, states that had chosen to adopt fair housing laws extended these laws with enforcement powers specifically to each states needs which federal law did not have (Collins, 2006).nnFederal agencies remained fairly the same concerning fair housing activism until around 1988. Racial discrimination was large and it took time to see much change in the United States, despite new laws against discrimination. Between 1940 and 1970, racial discrimination in America was predominant. In 1968, 56% of white Americans believed that African Americans did not have the right to live in white neighborhoods and whites should be able to choose not to have African Americans live in his or her neighborhood. In 1944, a survey taken by whites from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) found 55% of white Americans believed white people should be chosen over African Americans in job opportunities (Schuman, Steeh, & Bobo, 1985). nnDiscriminatory practices prohibited African Americans in having decent residential choices in metropolitan areas. African Americans moved from southern rural areas to urban neighborhoods throughout the United States from 1910 to 1970. Fair housing legislation rose through the civil rights movement and the migration of the African American people and gave African Americans equal opportunity in housing through law (Collins, 2006).

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