Agenda - Council - 06/28/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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M1 There are several key types of housing discrimination: • Mortgage lending discrimination results from lending practices that disproportionately limit the access of households of color to mortgage products compared to similar white households. Mortgage lending discrimination can include predatory marketing 0f high-ooeteubprirne|oanetoproepeotivehorneovvnereofoo|oChigher|oandenia|ratee for households 0fcolor, and more limited access t0prime mortgages for properties in neighborhoods ofcolor. • Real estate steering is discriminatory practice where real estate agents discourage households of color from pursuing homes in white neighborhoods, or where agents show hornebuyere homes only in areas that are economically, racially, ethnically, or culturally similar tothe buyer. • Barriers to qualification include poor credit rating, insufficient resource for down payment and closing costs, linguistic and cultural f8{t0[e, and at times outright discrimination, where a household of color is deemed a higher credit risk than a white household despite having 8 roughly equivalent qualification profile. • Discrimination in rental housing affects households of color, households of different national origin' people with disabilities, and other populations. Federal |avv prohibits refusing to rent to atenant onthe basis ofrace, color, national origin, religion, mental or physical disability, gender, or family status; but proving rental discrimination can be challenging, and regulatory enforcement mechanisms are weak. |nsummer 2015,two important pieces 0ffederal guidance relating t0the Fair Housing Act were released. In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affa|nyu Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. that disparate impact o|airne are valid under the Fair Housing Act. The court ruling established that proven discriminatory intent is not necessary to determine that a disparate impact has occurred in violation of the Fair Housing Act. However, the Court'e decision does a||ovv policies with disparate impact if they are necessary to achieve a valid interest. In July 2015, HUD issued a final rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. The rule reads: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) means taking meaningful actions, in addition t0combating discrimination, that overcome patterns 0fsegregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Speoifioa||y. AFFH means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas ofpoverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing |8vvS." This rule clarifies that all entities receiving HUD funding —such as the Council through the activities of the Metro HRA—are accountable to affirmatively further fair housing. Other fWo:omwrmmes