The inspiration for this post came from another by Charles McDonald, who contributed "Why is my Agent so Vague?" yesterday. Charles wrote on an extremely important topic, Fair Housing Laws and the importance of complying with them.
I urge you to read Charles' post and to pay particular attention to the comments that were contributed by Active Rain members!
A few weeks ago, I read another blog post by another agent on Active Rain who wrote that she'd been approached by a client and asked to provide information which would violate Fair Housing Laws. She was asked "Is this a mixed neighborhood?" and she chose to change the subject, rather than confront the person making the request. The comments on her post were about the choices that agents make when we encounter these situations.
What kind of choices would you make if you were asked to violate Fair Housing Laws?
Are you willing to "walk the talk" when it comes to Fair Housing and anti-discrimination issues?
- Would you try to educate the public or other agents about the need to observe and comply with Fair Housing statutes?
- If a consumer (or another licensee) asked you to violate Fair Housing Laws, would you go along with that request?
- If a person asked you to violate Fair Housing Laws, would you report that individual to the appropriate authorities, including HUD?
Agents need to be reminded from time to time about the importance of anti-discrimination laws, including State and Federal Fair Housing laws. Here is a brief list of resources for anyone who may wish to inquire about or report an incident which may be a violation:
http://www5.hud.gov:63001/po/i/netlocator/ This is the website for the HUD Local Office Directory. The various jurisdictions covered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development are divided into ten regions, with each region supervised by a Regional Director. Field offices also operate throughout the United States.
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/civilrts.htm The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also encourages individuals to report Civil Rights violations, including those dealing with consumer issues such as real estate.
http://www.aclu.org/about/index.html The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) takes an interest in cases where individuals have concerns about discrimination.
The following organizations also take a great deal of interest in acts of Discrimination:
http://www.naacp.org/home/index.htm The NAACP is actively involved in Civil Rights legislation and litigation.
http://www.adl.org/main_about_adl.asp The Anti-Defamation League has been active in combating anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds for over 90 years.
http://www.nclr.org/section/about/ The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is the largest Hispanic Civil Rights and advocacy group in the United States.
The above is by no means a complete list of resources. There are many state and national organizations ready to assist consumers of all nationalities and backgrounds with questions or complaints about discrimination.
Copyright © 2007 by Eric Kodner, All Rights Reserved
Eric, This is such an important subject that we all need to be sure we are educated about.
This is not a "fun" issue or a "popular" issue but it is about the most important issue that Real Estate agents need to be 100% familiar with. If you are not abiding by FH Laws, you are just asking for a lawsuit!
Why are we not seeing posts from other agents about Fair Housing?
Sometimes Real Estate Agents are not represented well in the media. This is an area that we need to all speak out on! Fair Housing is for everyone and it starts with excellent Agents that know the Law!