Summer 2008 Lott Leadership Exchange: Race, Religion and Reconciliation in a Comparative Dialogue Presentation by the National Fair Housing Alliance July 3, 2008

Mission Statement The National Fair Housing Alliance is the voice of fair housing. NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement.

Program Areas Enforcement Membership Services Hurricane Relief Project Industry Relations Education Public Policy

Fair Housing Act History Purpose Protections It shall be unlawful, because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, to restrict or attempt to restrict the choices of a person by word or conduct in connection with seeking, negotiating for, buying or renting a dwelling so as to perpetuate, or tend to perpetuate, segregated housing patterns, or to discourage or obstruct choices in a community, neighborhood or development. (24 CFR Part 14, Section (a)).

The First Fair Housing Law Civil Rights Act of 1866 –All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property.

Federal/State/Local Fair Housing Laws 100 State and Local Fair Housing Laws Additional Protected Groups –Marital Status –Source of Income –Sexual Orientation –Matriculation –Political Affiliation –Section 8 Voucher Holder –Survivors of domestic violence –Personal Appearance –Gender Identification and/or Expression

Historic Precedents Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman

Testing Paired test Sandwich Test Research v. Enforcement

What’s the incidence of discrimination each year? Fair Housing Trends Report: In 2007, 27,023 combined total complaints filed with private fair housing groups, state and local agencies, HUD and DOJ. Breakdown by Protected Class: –Race: 23% –Disability: 49% –Familial Status: 14% –National Origin: 9% –Sex: 3% –Religion: 3% –Other: 3%

Breakdown by Discriminatory Practice (NFHA Complaints Only) Rental: 77% Real Estate Sales: 5% Mortgage Lending: 7% Homeowners Insurance: <1% Other: 10%

Types of Discrimination Availability/Appointments Steering Denial of Service Illegal Comments Financial Incentives

Discrimination by the Public Sector “Restrictive Ordinances” Family Definitions Occupancy Restrictions Immigration Status Discriminatory Policies Public Housing Policies

Discrimination by the Private Sector

Discriminatory Lending Practices Historically included: redlining of AA and LA neighborhoods failure to have branches in minority neighborhoods refusal to write loans differential pricing, etc.

Subprime Housing Crisis

More Costly Credit  Subprime loans are priced higher, in theory to cover higher risk*  However, many subprime borrowers could qualify for prime loans but are courted only by subprime lenders*  Other subprime borrowers are charged more than is justified by risk. Origination fees are typically higher and prepayment penalties are more common*  *Center for Responsible Lending

Groups Negatively Impacted

Discrimination contributes to continued patterns of residential segregation. Measures of segregation show that it declined by 4-12% between 1980 and 2000 But: almost 65% of African-Americans live in segregated neighborhoods; and Almost 52% of Latinos live in segregated neighborhoods The average White person in metropolitan America lives in a neighborhood that is 80% White

Discrimination contributes to large gaps in homeownership. Homeownership Rates in 2004: Non-Hispanic Whites: 76% Blacks: 49.1% Latinos: 48.1% The gap in homeownership is larger now than it was in 1940 when it was 23%.

Residential Segregation leads to School Segregation. Almost every school district studied by the Harvard Civil Rights Project showed an increase in segregation since 1986 for Black and Latino students. Segregated schools result in fewer resources for schools with minority students.

Westchester County, NY School districts –Tarrytown 47.7 Latino –Elmsford 50.7 Black –Irvington 11% Black/Latino –Hastings on Hudson 7.9% Black/Latino

“Recent analyses of data prepared for school finance cases in Alabama, California, New Jersey, New York, Louisiana, and Texas have found that on every tangible measure – from qualified teachers to curriculum offerings – schools serving greater numbers of students of color had significantly fewer resources than schools serving mostly White students. … The continuing segregation of neighborhoods and communities intersects with funding formulas and school administration practices that create substantial differences in the educational resources made available in different communities.”

Policy Priorities Appropriations Housing Fairness Act Hurricane Relief Project

Report for the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

National Fair Housing Alliance 1101 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 710 Washington, DC (202) Deidre Swesnik – Debby Goldberg – Nhu-Han Duong – Molly Alarcon –