How to file a complaint for housing or lending discrimination

Discrimination is alive and well in housing, despite the presence of strong laws against it. The Fair Housing Act exists to protect people from discrimination when securing rental housing, buying a home and securing home financing.

There have been many enforcement cases against banks and other companies for discriminatory lending in recent years, as well as a long history of discrimination by private companies and public agencies. It’s important to know the types of discrimination that are happening and also how to file a complaint in case you find yourself or someone you know a victim of housing discrimination.

What the law says about housing discrimination

From the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) web site we find the following description:

“In the Sale and Rental of Housing: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

• Refuse to rent or sell housing
• Refuse to negotiate for housing
• Make housing unavailable
• Deny a dwelling
• Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
• Provide different housing services or facilities
• Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental
• For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting) or
• Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.

In Mortgage Lending: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability):

• Refuse to make a mortgage loan
• Refuse to provide information regarding loans
• Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees
• Discriminate in appraising property
• Refuse to purchase a loan or
• Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan.

In Addition: It is illegal for anyone to:

·      Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise that right

·      Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act.”

Recent examples of housing discrimination

Recent court cases filed by the Department of Justice to enforce the Fair Housing Act span many types of discrimination. Some of the more common types of discrimination prosecuted includes discriminatory lending practices, the the discriminatory restriction of lending by bank branch placement and/or marketing, and requiring extra paperwork in a discriminatory manner.

In 2012, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $175 million in response to claims that it charged African-Americans and Hispanics higher rates and fees on mortgages than it did to white home buyers with the same credit profiles. An investigation found 34,000 borrowers were affected and in 4,000 cases, borrowers were steered into subprime mortgages when they qualified for better loans.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) filed charges in early 2017 against Bank of America for discriminating against Hispanic mortgage borrowers in South Carolina. The bank is being charged with offering Hispanic borrowers worse terms with higher closing costs and monthly payments than non-Hispanic borrowers.

In 2013, the Department of Justice reached a settlement with Community State Bank in Michigan that they “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race.” Community State Bank was one of the five largest banks in Saginaw County, but never operated a branch in the City of Saginaw and only made one loan between 2006 to 2009 in Saginaw’s majority African American census tracts.