According to HUD, " added multiple new requirements and defenses that collectively made it virtually impossible to plead a disparate impact case to get it started, let alone ultimately win such a case."

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, via a final rule, is rescinding a 2020 Fair Housing Act rule and reinstating HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Standard, which dates back to 2013, the agency announced on Friday.

“Discrimination in housing continues today and individuals, including people of color and people with disabilities, continue to be denied equal access to rental housing and homeownership,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said Friday in a statement. “Today’s rule brings us one step closer to ensuring fair housing is a reality for all in this

Launched by researchers at the University of Richmond, Mapping Inequality (at https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/) is an interactive map that makes these remarkable materials freely accessible and easily explorable. Each of the HOLC maps can be displayed over the contemporary streetscape, and each neighborhood is clickable to read its area description.

While the maps are powerful alone, it’s the underlying area descriptions that provide a far clearer, and sometimes painful, window into the segregationist policies of mid-century America. There is no

Help shape fair housing!!

Follow these steps and checkout this comment guide page for more information: https://plcylk.org/affh-comment

The $811 million affordable housing bill, recently unveiled by Florida’s Senate president, would eliminate the possibility of rent-control laws — a limit on rent to prevent price gouging — by “deleting the authority of local governments to adopt or maintain laws, ordinances, rules, or other measures that would have the effect of imposing controls on rents.”

The new state proposal overall aims to try to help foster affordable housing, through additional measures. Housing has “become a huge burden on our citizens and residents, and

For the resources compiled by the Miami Herald, please read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article270391267.html

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Please see the whole Miami Herald article here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article269902787.html

That is a key finding of a new report, “Appraised: The persistent evaluation of white neighborhoods as more valuable than communities of color homes,” released Nov. 2 by Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, assistant professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Junia Howell, visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Using the newly released Uniform Appraisal Dataset — the most comprehensive set of market

The Miami-Dade and Broward Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination on these other grounds: Political Affiliation · Ancestry · Age · Marital Status · Veteran Status · Source of Income · Gender expression/identity · Sexual orientation · Being a victim of domestic violence or human trafficking

If you suspect discrimination in housing for any of these reasons, call HOPE at 305 651 4673!

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El Acta de Justicia en la Vivienda federal enmendada, y la ley

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A Black Florida realtor (and US Marines veteran) who was actively showing a house to a family with children had to justify her being there to a hostile next door neighbor (and she was used to that treatment!).

The Department of Justice settled with a group of business people who were caught specifically targeting Spanish-speaking people in Miami (and other cities) with a home-financing scam.

The US President addressed that, across the country, home appraisal values consistently come back higher when the appraiser thinks the current homeowner is White, versus other races.

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Monday, October 24, 2022, 10:00am - 11:00am Eastern Time on Zoom

Want to know more about fair housing rights concerning families with children, mental and physical challenges, racial segregation, and more? Please join us!

*So that we are able to measure our outreach, please have each training attendee fully sign up and register as an individual.

Please register now at this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpfumppzsjHdMIvLKEP3B6uBUoFc-xnWzI

When Black people apply for mortgages, they are more likely to be denied than their White counterparts. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data clearly shows higher rates of denials of loans to Black applicants, when compared to White applicants.

A person with a South Florida government speculated that, well, this different treatment comes from Black people just generally coming to the table less qualified. Two points on that.

First, even if it were that simple, "coming to the table less qualified" is itself often the result of discrimination. Compared to White borrowers, Black and Hispanic borrowers face different treatment to begin with in many of the baseline considerations for loan approval, including

The Tenant’s Bill of Rights ordinance was passed by the Board of County Commissioners on May 3, 2022 to assist renters with safe, stable and affordable rental housing, and served to formalize Miami-Dade County's Office of Housing

The city of Miami Beach in the 1960s and 1970s imposed rent control measures before the Florida law limiting them was passed. The Orange County ordinance would be the first such measure in the state in decades. Rent control measures have passed in California and Oregon, as well as in metro areas like St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon.

Please see the full article here:

Thursday, September 22, 2022, 10:00am - 2:00pm Eastern Time on Zoom

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as individuals and entities who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability-related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
- Fair Housing Laws
- HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan

Months after that first appraisal, the couple applied for another refinance loan, removed family photos and had a white male colleague — a fellow Johns Hopkins professor — stand in for them. The second appraiser valued the house at $750,000.

“We had to have a conversation with our kids about why we’re pulling down all their drawings,” Dr. Connolly said. “It’s very humiliating to strip yourself of your own home.”

Please see the whole story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/realestate/housing-discrimination-maryland.html

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The DoJ alleged that “from 2009 through at least 2015,” the defendants targeted Hispanic homeowners “for a scheme involving unfair and predatory loan

According to HUD, the charges are the first since the U.S. Supreme Court expanded civil rights protections for transgender Americans with a ruling in the 2020 case known as Bostock v. Clayton County.

Before the Bostock decision, discrimination over gender identity and sexual orientation was not recognized as a Civil Rights violation in federal court.

HUD began enforcing those protections in February 2021 as they pertained to the Fair Housing Act. However, no federal legislation has been passed to explicitly include those protections, as reported by

The Tenant’s Bill of Rights ordinance was passed by the Board of County Commissioners on May 3, 2022 to assist renters with safe, stable and affordable rental housing, and served to formalize Miami-Dade County's Office of Housing

This is called source of income discrimination.

If you’re facing discrimination, please call HOPE!
-Miami-Dade: (305) 651-4673
-Broward: (954) 567-0545

“We are not looking to hurt landlords,”

The county announced that commissioners approved a law that requires landlords give at least 60 days’ notice before terminating a lease when the rent has increased by more than five percent.

According to a release, the commission heard from “many people” who had been forced to leave their rental homes due to sudden and steep rent increases.

The new law applies to all renters whose rent went up by more than five percent, regardless of whether they are month-to-month or have an annual lease agreement.

Per the release, which referenced research done by Realtor.com, the average rent in the tri-county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties increased by a whopping 57

Please see the full National Public Radio article at: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092906261/land-of-opportunity-zones

Please join us for presentations on issues affecting the continued fight for fair housing!

Presenters will include:

Eneami Bestman-Range, Fair housing attorney
US Court of Appeals Case Fox v. Gaines & Sex Discrimination in Housing

Robin F. Bachin, University of Miami
Race, Housing, and Displacement in Miami

Jorge Damian de la Paz, Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office
County Status Update

Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctdemtqz0qG9DQDkvQ-teT8-3SlOHh1I_X

Thank you!

Information about the speakers:

Eneami Bestman-Range is an experienced fair housing and

The move comes at a time the county is facing an affordable housing crisis with rent skyrocketing.

“It gives residents time to prepare or find a new place to live,” said Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who proposed the ordinance.

Before the meeting, a group of renters and affordable housing advocates demonstrated in front of the government center in downtown Miami, urging commissioners to do more to battle rent costs that are spiraling out of control. Some apartment owners are raising the rent by as much as $1,000 a month.

Full story here: https://miami.cbslocal.com/2022/03/15/miami-dade-rising-rent-notification/

The settlement resolves the groups’ claims that Fannie Mae treated homes it owned in majority-Black and Latino communities unfavorably. The settlement will help rebuild and strengthen communities of color in 39 metropolitan areas.

In the case, the plaintiffs alleged that Fannie Mae maintained and marketed its foreclosed homes in predominantly white neighborhoods while allowing homes in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods to fall into disrepair and that this differential treatment exacerbated the damage caused by the 2008 mortgage crisis and impeded recovery

Presented by
Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc.

Monday, February 28, 2022
10:00am - 11:30am EST on Zoom

Please join us for a FREE training on fair housing laws and best practices. Topics will include:
-which transactions are covered
-protected classes
-fair housing enforcement & penalties
-HUD’s Equal Access Rule
-the Violence Against Women Act

Please register now at this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUudeiqqzwqGNWEhi8qPmJpcimwIncOB2FB
(or please e-mail Rob Collins at rob@hopefhc.com for the link)

For information or for reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, please call (305) 651-4673 or

About 29% of 1,538 LGBTQ members in the U.S. reported they had experienced discrimination during the homebuying process or suspected they were victims of it, according to a recent survey by Realtor.com in partnership with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. Of that same group, 44% of the transgender community said they had experienced or suspected bias.

“The LGBTQ community not only deals with housing discrimination but the fear of discrimination. Different generations have different experiences, which can hold them back,” says

In other words, professional ethics a generation ago—when the parents of today’s Black homebuyers might have been acquiring homes and wealth to pass on to their children—dictated that Realtors not show them homes in what all agreed were “the better areas.

From Bloomberg Businessweek + Equality

Please see the whole article at:

Redlined neighborhoods often tended to be high-poverty communities, and unfair lending practices often coincided with discrimination in employment and other aspects of life that could also negatively impact health, the researchers noted.

On top of this, redlining prevented Black families from passing accumulated wealth — in the form of a family home — on to subsequent generations, Mujahid says. Homeownership is one of the most common ways that families in the United States are able to move into the middle class and allow their children to achieve more financial success.

Even though redlining may technically be a thing of the past, structural racism and discrimination persist in contributing to worse health outcomes for Black people, several studies

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Improved job growth and sky-high prices in the for-sale housing market added to already strong demand for single-family rentals fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.

While 93% of consumers said they believe owning a home is a good investment, according to a separate CoreLogic report, competition in the buying market is forcing more potential buyers to remain renters.

The single-family market is particularly hot right now, as people want more space and as the huge millennial generation ages into marriage and parenthood.

“Single-family rental vacancy rates remained near 25-year lows in the third quarter of

Would you like to put your fair housing knowledge to the test? Check out the HOPE quiz and see what you know! Please click on the link that's right for your computer, PC (Windows) or Mac (Apple), to download our quiz -

PC users:

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The quiz is a Flash animation contained in ZIP files at the links above; please send an e-mail to Rob at rob@hopefhc.com if you're having any issues accessing it. Thank you!

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Maybe, because of a disability:
-you need a co-signer.
-you need to slightly delay your payment.
-you need to change how you physically submit payment for your housing.
-you need to change the form of payment for your housing.
-you need a recalculation of your "household income."

If you’re facing an issue like these or others, please call HOPE, Inc. today!
-Miami-Dade: (305) 651-4673
-Broward: (954) 567-0545

Please click here to sign up to receive HOPE's quarterly newsletter via e-mail: https://hopefhc.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=76c6831de0346b11ee11b9d49&id=0800c1cd40

Tuesday, October 12, 2021, 10:00am - 2:00pm EDT on Zoom

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as individuals and entities who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability-related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
- Fair Housing Laws
- HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan requirements
- Section 504 and

In hot markets where multiple bidders are jockeying for the same house, homebuyers will do just about anything to get their offer noticed – and that includes writing “love letters” in hopes of making a personal connection with a seller.

These ardent pitches often rave about a home’s natural light or historic character. They also contain deeply personal details about people’s lives along with photographs, even videos.

Increasingly, though, real estate agents are refusing to accept or deliver these love letters as concerns grow that they violate fair housing laws.

Oregon is the first state to ban the practice. Starting in January, a real estate agent must reject any communication that would reveal the buyer's race,

HOPE, Inc.
Miami-Dade:
(305) 651-4673
Broward:
(954) 567-0545

Don’t wait to call HOPE to report this!

Denial or delay of a home loan because of maternity leave violates the federal Fair Housing Act and is illegal! Please call HOPE today if you or anybody else has faced this!

Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc.

Miami-Dade:
(305) 651-4673

Broward:
(954) 567-0545

The last year has been rough on Ivan Varela, who lost his job as a cook in March 2020 when restaurants were shut down. “I became homeless so I am staying in a hotel in Tamarac,” Varela said. He got by on rental assistance, but by March 2021, the money dried up and he got evicted from his apartment in Sunrise. “We were late on rent,” he said. “There was no income, so how do you pay the rent?” It’s a stressful situation he and many others have had to face during the pandemic. The CDC is trying to save others from going through similar evictions.

Miami-Dade County, Broward and Palm Beach have the third highest year-over-year increases in condo and single-family home sales when comparing the total number of sales from June 2020 to June 2021. The Miami metro area had 3,248 sales in June 2020 and 5,793 in June 2021. The Denver-headquartered brokerage firm RE/MAX analyzed the total number of sales from the Multiple Listing Service for 53 U.S. metro areas.

Honolulu ranked first with an approximately 92% increase, from 623 sales to 1,198 sales. New York ranked second with an 81% year-over-year growth, from 1,863 transactions to 3,365

The 2021 Out of Reach report published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows how much a person would need to make per hour, working full-time, in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment without spending more than 30 percent of their income.

Overall, it is recommended that a Florida resident make $24.82 an hour for a yearly salary of $51,619 in order to comfortably afford a two-bedroom home. The report calculates the fair market price of a two-bedroom home at $1,290.

However, according to the report, it is recommended that South Florida residents earn even more.

Miami-Dade residents are recommended to earn $29.83 an

For more information, please go here: https://www.miamigov.com/Residents/Housing/ERA-Program

Please be advised
The application window for this program will reopen on Monday, July 12th, 2021 at 9:00 am for new applications. If you have already applied for this program, you should not submit another application. The City will accept applications until funds are exhausted.

Call center: 305-330-1508

The CDC said Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed an extension to the eviction moratorium, which was set to expire on June 30, 2021, through July 31, 2021.

It's intended to be the final extension of the moratorium, according to a release from the CDC.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation's public health. Keeping people in their homes and out of crowded or congregate settings — like homeless shelters — by preventing evictions is a key step in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19," the

President Joe Biden — announcing the initiatives while marking the 100th anniversary of an attack on a thriving Black-owned business district in Tulsa, Okla., — said he would task Marcia Fudge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a former Ohio congresswoman, with leading the housing efforts.

Black homeowners have long complained that their homes are undervalued compared with similar homes owned by white Americans, contributing to major financial disparities and depriving Black households of

A Black Indianapolis homeowner who had a nagging suspicion that her house was lowballed in two appraisals last year went to great lengths to conceal her race in a third. She removed photos of herself and her relatives and had a white friend pose as her brother for the appraiser's home visit.

The result? The appraisal of Carlette Duffy's home more than doubled.

Duffy's home, which was assessed by different companies last year, was first appraised at $125,000, then $110,000 and finally $259,000 in November,

The program will provide eligible households with up to 12 months of rent and utility assistance. Plus an additional three months if funds are available. And, if it’s determined the extra months are needed to ensure housing stability.

Funds must be used to reduce the household’s past due rent and/or utility bills before future payments can be made. Once past due amounts are reduced, future payments for up to three months

We are happy to announce the Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc. 2021 Fair Housing Month Event: We're in this Together, presented in partnership with the Professional Standards/Human Rights Section of Broward County

Thursday, April 29th, 2021, 9:00am to 12:00pm EDT

The morning of the event, please join us by clicking this link: https://broward.webex.com/webappng/sites/broward/meeting/download/9862bf5245514abf8c3eae672d5cdc8c?siteurl=broward&MTID=m070eab0567e87be79b42a490bacd7130

Speakers:

Kristin Wong is a Financial Analyst on the Mortgage Markets team at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her focus is on market monitoring,

Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 10:00am - 2:00pm EDT on Zoom

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as individuals and entities who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability-related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
- Fair Housing Laws
- HUD’s Affirmative Fair

Please join us for presentations spotlighting housing issues right here in our community!

Thursday, April 29th, 2021, 9:00am to 12:00pm EDT

The morning of the event, please join us by clicking this link: https://broward.webex.com/webappng/sites/broward/meeting/download/9862bf5245514abf8c3eae672d5cdc8c?siteurl=broward&MTID=m070eab0567e87be79b42a490bacd7130

Topics and Speakers:
Housing insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic
Kristin Wong
Financial Analyst, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its federal moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent until June 30.

It marks the third time the deadline for lifting the ban has been pushed back. The CDC’s order first went into effect in September and initially was set to expire at the end of 2020. But then in December, the protection was extended until January 31. As one of his first acts in office, President Joe Biden called on the CDC to extend the ban until March 31.

But now, as that expiration date rapidly approaches, the CDC is once again extending the deadline.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a historic threat to the nation’s

In testimony and court filings, Miami-Dade representatives said county police face no local moratorium on processing eviction orders from cases filed after the COVID-19 state of emergency began in March 2020. That’s a shift from prior county policies instructing police not to serve eviction papers from cases that started during the pandemic.

Instead of a blanket ban, according to court papers, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has imposed a priority list that puts pandemic evictions at the back of the line — a pecking order that lawyers for landlords say is unfair and illegal.

“The only way to be fair is first-in,

The new policy by the Department of Housing and Urban Development represents one of the earliest federal anti-discrimination changes made by the new administration using an executive order signed last month by President Joe Biden. The President's order mandated agencies implement a recent Supreme Court decision prohibiting sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in the workplace in laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.

Under the new guidance, HUD said it will be able to investigate complaints made under the

Applications went live Monday and can be found at http://www.miamidade.gov/global/housing/emergency-rental-assistance-program.page.

Tenants apply for the relief, and if approved, the rent payment will be mailed directly to their landlords. Landlords can also refer their tenants to the program. Case workers hired by the county will contact the renters to start the application process.

People who live anywhere in Miami-Dade County, with the exception of Miami and Hialeah, can apply as long as they meet the eligibility criteria. Miami and Hialeah have received separate funding from the federal government.

County commissioners approved the $61 million

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced a $60 million relief program for residential landlords that have pending writs of possession with tenants facing eviction. The program will offer those landlords back rent of up to $3,000 per month dating back to March 2020, using federal funding.

“This is a very substantial support for those landlords who have to pay their bills,” Levine Cava said.

The residential eviction moratorium, mandated at the federal level, is in still in place in order to protect vulnerable families and public health.

“The federal eviction moratorium has saved lives and it has kept people safely in their homes, preventing the

Today, as part of the President’s commitment to deliver immediate relief for American families bearing the brunt of this crisis, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Agriculture announced a coordinated extension and

Section 1. Background and Policy. Diverse and inclusive communities strengthen our democracy. But our Nation’s history has been one of great struggle toward this ideal. During the 20th century, Federal, State, and local governments systematically implemented racially discriminatory housing policies that contributed to segregated neighborhoods and inhibited equal opportunity and the chance to build wealth for Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American families, and other underserved communities. Ongoing legacies of residential segregation and discrimination remain ever-present in our society. These include a

Over 107 million people -- or about

Previously, renters whose leases had expired and never renewed, or were renting an apartment based on a verbal agreement with the landlord, could be legally notified they had to vacate the premises in 15 days.

About 10 people spoke in favor of the legislation during the commission meeting. The City of Miami already requires a 30-day eviction window for month-to-month tenants.

“We’re seeing countless households in fear of what happens next when they get that

Thursday, February 11, 2021, 10:00am - 2:00pm on Zoom

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as individuals and entities who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability-related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
- Fair Housing Laws
- HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan requirements
-

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a moratorium Sept. 4 on all evictions and foreclosures around the U.S., citing health risks and the possibility of further spread of the COVID-19 virus because of homelessness.

The CDC moratorium expired at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31.

In its place comes another eviction moratorium, part of the $900 billion bipartisan stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on Dec. 27. The 5,600-page bill allocates $25 billion in rental relief funds for renters and landlords. The bill stretches the eviction moratorium until Jan. 31. The money will be sent to states to distribute.

According to the National Low

Would you like to put your fair housing knowledge to the test? Check out the HOPE quiz and see what you know! Please click on the link that's right for your computer, PC (Windows) or Mac (Apple), to download our quiz -

PC users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-PC-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

Mac users:

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The quiz is a Flash animation contained in ZIP files at the links above; please send an e-mail to Rob at rob@hopefhc.com if you're having any issues accessing it. Thank you!

The specter of flooding hints at the cascading series of climate vulnerabilities slowly inundating lower-income Americans who depend on affordable, and often aged, housing. Older homes tend to be poorer quality, suffer from deferred maintenance, and are more physically vulnerable to flooding damage (not to mention rising heat), all while housing a disproportionate amount of disabled,

Please consider supporting us on #GiveMiamiDay!

On November 19, 2020, HOPE is again participating in Give Miami Day, the Miami Foundation’s initiative to support non-profits by matching a percentage of credit and debit card contributions of $25 - $10,000 during a 24-hour online giving period (from 12:01am to 11:59pm on November 19th). On November 19th, please go to givemiamiday.org to contribute to Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc.!  All support is appreciated; thank you!

We invite you to add us on Facebook and Twitter, as we work towards eliminating housing discrimination! For Facebook, please find us at HOPE, Inc. Fair Housing Center (you can click here to go directly to our page). For Twitter, please find us at @hope_fhc (you can click here to go directly to the page). Thank you!

Florida’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures during the coronavirus pandemic has ceased.The governor’s office announced that Gov. Ron DeSantis would allow Florida’s eviction moratorium to expire.“Executive Order 20-211 pertaining to the State’s mortgage foreclosure and eviction relief was permitted to expire to avoid any confusion over whether the CDC’s evictions order should apply in a particular circumstance,” wrote Fredrick Piccolo Jr., director of communications for the governor, in a press release.A federal moratorium on evictions for people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic took effect September 4. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention passed the order, which lasts until the end of the year on December 31. Protection under the CDC’s moratorium is not

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued guidance on the use of criminal records in housing and real estate transactions. The guidance, from April 4, 2016, "addresses how the discriminatory effects and disparate treatment methods of proof apply in Fair Housing Act cases in which a housing provider justifies an adverse housing action –such as a refusal to rent or renew a lease –based on an individual’s criminal history."

From the conclusion, here is the main takeaway of what HUD had to say:

"While the Act does not prohibit housing providers from appropriately considering criminal history information when making housing decisions, arbitrary and overbroad criminal history-related bans are likely to lack a legally sufficient justification.

A new Florida law tears away the red tape associated with the removal of outdated and racist language embedded in certain real estate documents. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law (SB 374) after a yearlong effort that began in Tallahassee and gained legislative traction, although some say it's but the "first step" in addressing a convoluted process. 

The bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg, “extinguishes discriminatory restrictions from certain real estate documents, such as deeds," according to the online summary.

Last summer, Tallahassee criminal defense attorney Anabelle Dias exposed a racially charged but unenforceable section of a seven-page covenant for a home she'd planned to purchase in

Relying on a public health law intended to prevent the spread of an illness, the Trump administration said Tuesday it is implementing a national four-month moratorium on residential evictions. 

The moratorium, announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was the latest measure by the administration to get a handle on the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic absent an agreement with Congress on a more far reaching package that would have the force of law.

To stop evictions, health officials are relying on the 1944 Public Health Service Act, which gives the administration broad quarantine powers. The moratorium, which will run through Dec. 31, applies to individuals earning less than $99,000 a year and who are unable to make rent or

Companies that value homes for sale or refinancing are bound by law not to discriminate. Black homeowners say it happens anyway.

A second appraisal valued Abena and Alex Horton’s Jacksonville home 40 percent higher than the first appraisal, after Ms. Horton removed all signs of Blackness.Credit...Charlotte Kesl for The New York Times

Abena and Alex Horton wanted to take advantage of low home-refinance rates brought on by the coronavirus crisis. So in June, they took the first step in that process, welcoming a home appraiser into their four-bedroom, four-bath ranch-style house in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Hortons live just minutes from the Ortega River, in a predominantly white neighborhood of 1950s homes that tend to sell for $350,000 to $550,000. They had expected

Race · Color · National Origin · Religion

Sex · Disability (includes HIV Status)

Familial Status (as in having/expecting children)

Miami-Dade County’s local fair housing laws provide protection against discrimination on these additional bases:

Age · Ancestry · Marital Status

Being a Victim of Domestic Violence

Gender Expression or Identity

Sexual Orientation · Source of Income

Broward County’s local fair

The governor's previous extension order, which was to expire at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 1 now will expire at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 1, according to a new order signed Wednesday night. The initial order was issued in April.

The change gives struggling Floridians an extra month if they are unable to pay their mortgages or rent before their landlords or lenders can take action. The extension does not relieve their obligation to pay.

"All payments, including tolled payments, are due when an individual is no longer adversely affected by the COVID-19 emergency," according to the order.

Miami attorney David

The extended deadline to apply is Friday, July 31, 2020, at 2:00 p.m.

Budget: $157,427Additional funding sources will be identified to provide more assistance. 

The City of North Miami will assist individuals with a one-time payment up to $1,000 for households occupying rental units outside of the NMCRA boundaries that have suffered loss of income or reduced wages directly connected to COVID-19 pandemic. The City used a portion of the $452,692 in emergency funding from HUD to provide much needed relief to our residents to cover their past due rent. 

Printed applications will be available at the following locations:

North Miami Customer Service Center, 811 NE 125th StreetHousing & Social Services Satellite Office,

The Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners has approved the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). This $10 million program is intended to help families who are having problems paying their rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide a one-time benefit to assist with their rent.

“I commend the commissioners on their swift action to approve the Emergency Rental Assistance Program,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “This is a vital program that will help families throughout our County get through the unprecedented hardships resulting from the current health crisis.”

The amount of rental assistance will depend on family size and bedroom size of the housing unit, the rent owed, and current household income, which must be no more than 80

Please join us for a FREE HUD-Sponsored Webinar: Fair Housing & Civil Rights Related Programs Requirements for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance, presented by Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc. with assistance from the City of Homestead, FL

Thursday, July 30, 2020, 10:00am - 2:00pm on Zoom

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as individuals and entities who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability-related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:

- Fair Housing Laws

- HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing

While many housing providers, including community associations, have been required to allow individuals to bring emotional support animals into their communities even though pets are not permitted, recently adopted legislation aims at limiting abuse of this type of reasonable accommodation. As of July 1, 2020, the Florida Statutes have been amended to differentiate between emotional support animals, governed by the Fair Housing Act, and service animals, governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Emotional support animals do not require specialized training and, in recognition of this, the statute as amended specifically provides that no emotional support animal registration of any kind is, by itself, sufficient to establish that a person has a disability-related need for such an

Floridians concerned about being kicked out of their homes this week can now breathe a sigh of relief. 

Tuesday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the extension of the state's moratorium on evictions and foreclosures. 

The order was set to expire on Wednesday, July 1st, causing major concerns for families struggling to make ends meet through the coronavirus pandemic. 

On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health reported another 6,093 new cases of COVID-19. 

Florida set a new one-day high with 9,585 new cases reported Saturday and had followed that with 8,530 reported on Sunday.

There have been 152,434 cases of the novel coronavirus reported in Florida since the start of the pandemic, and on Tuesday the state

Please join HOPE and the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc. this Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 6pm for a FREE Zoom webinar - "Fair Housing Rights are Civil Rights: A historical overview of the Fair Housing Act and where we are today." Please register here: https://zoom.us/j/95327002452 Thank you!

Google has announced an updating of its policies that will prohibit advertisers promoting housing, employment and credit access from targeting or excluding audiences based on demographics or place of residence.

In a statement on Google’s corporate blog, Scott Spencer, vice president of product management, ads privacy and safety, noted that the search engine has a decade-long policy that prevented advertisers from “targeting users on the basis of sensitive categories related to their identity, beliefs, sexuality, or personal hardships.”

Spencer said Google worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in revising its policies.

“This policy will prohibit impacted employment, housing, and credit advertisers from targeting or excluding

The HAND Program provides temporary rental assistance to eligible individuals and families in Miami-Dade County who are currently homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. The Program was recently expanded to help people experiencing economic hardship as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. You may qualify for rent assistance under this Program expansion if you lost your job on or after March 1, 2020, or have less income due to COVID-19; if you have received written notice from your landlord that you may lose your housing because your rent is late; and if you pass specific rent and income tests.

Unfortunately, the number of COVID-19 victims needing rent assistance far exceeds available funding. In an effort to assist as many of these people as possible, the Program

¡Conoce tus derechos!

En cualquier transacción relacionada con la vivienda, es ilegal que reciba un trato diferente debido a las clases protegidas (arriba, en rojo). Mientras todos lidiamos con COVID-19, es crucial saber qué acciones son ilegales. Ejemplos (esto es solo un puñado de ejemplos; puede experimentar algo más que también es ilegal):

-Un agente inmobiliario no puede negarse a mostrarle ciertas casas porque usted proviene (o incluso piensan que usted proviene) de un país donde COVID-19 es un gran problema. Esta es una discriminación basada en la nacionalidad.

-Un administrador de la propiedad no puede imponerle reglas diferentes porque se sospecha que tiene problemas de salud relacionados con COVID-19. Esto es discriminación basada en la

Beginning Monday, May 18, 2020, the City of Miami Beach will begin taking applications for COVID-19 rent relief. Please see here for more information: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/City-of-Miami-Beach-Update-on-COVID-19--5-13.html?soid=1011085968389&aid=IMmH3goWeDI

The City of Miami Emergency Rental & Utilities Assistance Program is designed to provide one-month rental and utility assistance to low-income (60% AMI or less) residents who have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and cannot afford to pay their rent, utilities or both. The program provides eligible households with one-time assistance of up to $1,500.00. Program is subject to funding availability. Qualifying utility costs to be paid include electricity, water, and gas. It does not include telephone, internet or cable bills.

This program is only available to applicants who are renters and live in The City of Miami. The program will not issue payments directly to applicants, but rather payments will be sent directly to landlords and utility companies

A South Florida woman who relies on a home healthcare aide is taking legal action after, she said, a new policy banning visitors at her condo is preventing her aide from providing the care she desperately needs.

Eva Markman, a resident at Winston Towers in Sunny Isles Beach, is now alone with no access to her caregiver of four years.

The 73-year-old, who is disabled, spoke with 7News on Tuesday.

“I am very upset. My blood pressure has come up, and I feel very, very bad. My hands are very swollen,” she said.

Markman said she needs her aide to help her get dressed, cook, bathe and use the restroom. Her aide also helps her take her poodle outside.

But because of COVID-19, the condo association has the building on lockdown, and people who

Florida Governor Executive Order 20-94 suspends, for 45 days, foreclosures under Florida law and any eviction under Florida law "solely as it relates to non-payment of rent by residential tenants due to the COVID-19 emergency." Please see full text here: https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/orders/2020/EO_20-94.pdf

When it’s first of the month, renters know what that means: It's time to fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars to your landlord.

Even before the coronavirus crisis, Miami was the most rent-burdened city in the United States; according to Census Bureau data, nearly two-thirds of renters here spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

But a lot has changed since the last time rent was due.

Since March 1, at least 74,000 Floridians have filed for unemployment benefits owing to coronavirus-related job loss. Experts say Miami-Dade County stands to lose more than 100,000 jobs because of the pandemic.

Miami-Dade renters have a few protections at the county, state, and federal levels. For starters, the Miami-Dade Police Department

Beware of COVID-19 scams at home and online

Social media posts are circulating with a claim that representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are going to residences dressed in protective gear and conducting COVID-19 testing. This is untrue. The CDC is not visiting residents' homes. During these times, scammers are seeking opportunities to take advantage of consumers. We encourage you to be vigilant in identifying scams and review these helpful tips: 

- Scams can include social media posts, texts and websites meant to take your personal information and money and infect computers.

- Think twice before investing in companies who say they are working on a coronavirus cure. Check official sources like the

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will suspend foreclosures and evictions for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration until the end of April, a move that will affect about 8.1 million mortgages.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) also ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the companies behind about half of the nation’s $11 trillion mortgage market, to suspend foreclosures and evictions for any single-family mortgages they back for “at least 60 days,” the agency said.

The move, announced at a White House press conference, is part of a broad-based response by the administration to the fallout from the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic, which threatens to shut down large swaths of the economy and has wreaked havoc in many

In consideration of the announced national emergency in response to the COVID19 pandemic, HOPE's offices are closed to the public until it is deemed safe to reopen. We have also cancelled our April 3 and April 24 Fair Housing Month events.

We are otherwise maintaining business operations and remain available by phone and email during this time. Please contact us by telephone at (305) 651-4673 in Miami-Dade or (954) 567-0545 in Broward.

Thank you for your understanding.

FAIR HOUSING AND THE CURRENT COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The fair housing laws can protect people who are infected with Covid-19 and those who are perceived as being infected.

FAIR HOUSING, NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION AND COVID-19

Miami-Dade police announced March 12 that officers would not assist with evictions during the emergency declared by Mayor Carlos Gimenez for the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency said it “has temporarily suspended all eviction activities until further notice” in a release sent Thursday morning. The action means officers won’t assist landlords in removing tenants or serving court papers, freezing evictions until further notice.

“The only ones that can follow through on
eviction orders is us,” said police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta. “From
this point forward, those papers and those orders will not be
processed.”

The decision to halt evictions over COVID-19 comes on the heels of outrage last year when county police assisted evicting a 75-year-old from her

Florida lawmakers have agreed to fully fund the state affordable housing program in the coming year, a significant policy development that impacts struggling Floridians who face rising costs and low wages.

Over the weekend, House and Senate budget negotiators agreed to spend $370 million for affordable housing initiatives. It is in line with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had urged full funding for the housing programs.

Housing advocates and lawmakers push for affordable rent for Floridians, and other measures. Photo credit by Danielle J. Brown.

The Legislature’s decision is a significant particularly for the state House, which in recent years had been successful in shifting money from the housing program to other state priorities.

Over the last two

We’d like to announce this year’s Miami Dade Fair Housing Month event, including a FREE workshop!

27th Annual Miami-Dade County Fair Housing Month Celebration: 2020 Vision for Fair Housing Friday, April 3, 2020 DoubleTree Biscayne Bay 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., Miami, FL 33132

9:00am – 12:00pm: FREE Workshop

Housing Justice in Miami - Zelalem Adefris, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy, Catalyst Miami

Proposed Disparate Impact Rule - Donald Jones, Professor, University of Miami School of Law

Homeownership in Miami-Dade - Eric Johnson, Homeownership Assistance Program Coordinator/Underwriter, Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust

HUD Initiatives, HUD Programs, and Public Housing - Luis

Would you like to put your fair housing knowledge to the test? Check out the HOPE quiz and see what you know! Please click on the link that's right for your computer, PC (Windows) or Mac (Apple), to download our quiz -

PC users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-PC-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

Mac users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-Mac-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

The quiz is a Flash animation contained in ZIP files at the links above; please send an e-mail to Rob at rob@hopefhc.com if you're having any issues accessing it. Thank you!

Are you living with AIDS? Do you need help paying your rent? Take advantage of this opportunity from the Housing & Community Development Department of City of Miami! Apply for the HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS) Housing Assistance Waitlist in Miami-Dade County from February 10 through February 21, 2020. Information is here: http://aidsnet.org/

For more information, please call 311 or 305-416-1927. If you would like to request the TBRA application in an accessible format due to a disability, please call 305-416-1984, at least three (3) days in advance of your desired date. TDD/TTY users may contact the Florida Relay Service at 711 or 800-955-8771.

¿ESTAS VIVIENDO CON SIDA? ¿NECESITAS AYUDA PARA PAGAR TU RENTA? Aproveche esta oportunidad!

We invite you to register for a FREE training: Fair Housing & Civil Rights Related Programs Requirements for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance, presented by Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc. with special thanks to A.H. of Monroe County, Inc.

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as housing providers who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:

Fair Housing Laws  HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan requirements  Section 504 and Reasonable Accommodations for

Our nation’s highest court soon will decide whether the federal law that bans discrimination based on “sex” should cover sexual preferences, not just a person’s born gender.

DEAR DAVE: You said in a recent column that the federal Fair Housing Act does not protect gay and bisexual people from housing discrimination. But because the act specifically bans discrimination based on sex, wouldn’t that include a person’s sexual preferences?

ANSWER: No, but that could soon change. Twenty-two states have laws that specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, but federal anti-discrimination laws do not protect lesbian, gay or transgender Americans. Groups representing the LGBTQ community have long been pushing Congress for such protection — especially in the

We invite you to add us on Facebook and Twitter, as we work towards eliminating housing discrimination! For Facebook, please find us at HOPE, Inc. Fair Housing Center (you can click here to go directly to our page). For Twitter, please find us at @hope_fhc (you can click here to go directly to the page). Thank you!

People who claim they’ve been discriminated against in housing would have another way to fix the problem, under legislation moving through the Florida Legislature. The bill, SB 374, passed unanimously in a Senate committee on December 9th, would help alleged victims of housing discrimination to pursue a civil lawsuit. Sen. Darryl Rouson, who represents parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, presented the legislation to the Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability.

The proposed bill will have to pass in the full House and Senate in the 2020 legislative session that begins Jan. 14. Gov. Ron DeSantis would also have to approve it. Rouson didn’t have any arguments by committee members except for one question by a lawmaker: “What are we trying to

In one of the most concentrated investigations of discrimination by real estate agents in the half century since enactment of America’s landmark fair housing law, Newsday found evidence of widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers and minority communities on Long Island. The three-year probe strongly indicates that house hunting in one of the nation’s most segregated suburbs poses substantial risks of discrimination, with black buyers chancing disadvantages almost half the time they enlist brokers. Additionally, the investigation reveals that Long Island’s dominant residential brokering firms help solidify racial separations. They frequently directed white customers toward areas with the highest white representations and minority buyers to more

Would you like to put your fair housing knowledge to the test? Check out the HOPE quiz and see what you know! Please click on the link that's right for your computer, PC (Windows) or Mac (Apple), to download our quiz -

PC users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-PC-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

Mac users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-Mac-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

The quiz is a Flash animation contained in ZIP files at the links above; please send an e-mail to Rob at rob@hopefhc.com if you're having any issues accessing it. Thank you!

Discrimination isn’t usually this obvious any more, but it’s still just as ugly.

And it definitely isn’t just about race. Laws protect people against discrimination due to gender, sexual orientation, having children, having a mental or physical challenge, religion, gender identity and expression, age, paying the rent with Section 8, and more.

This Thursday, November 21, 2019, on Give Miami Day, we at Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc. are hoping that you’ll consider going to www.givemiamiday.org and supporting us as we continue to combat discrimination through community outreach, complaint intake, and investigations. Thank you!

We invite you to register for a FREE training: Fair Housing & Civil Rights Related Programs Requirements for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance, presented by Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc. with special thanks to A.H. of Monroe County, Inc.

This is a half-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME, as well as housing providers who do not receive federal funding. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training: Fair Housing Laws HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan requirements Section 504 and Reasonable Accommodations for People with

What is source of income discrimination? In searching for housing, many people face discrimination by housing providers who are unwilling to rent to voucher holders. As a result, several states and municipalities, including Florida’s Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, have adopted laws prohibiting housing discrimination based on source of income.

This means that it is illegal for a housing provider to keep a person out simply because that person is paying for housing with a subsidy or assistance like Section 8, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), or other benefits programs.

The law in Broward County: Broward County, Florida Code of Ordinances, Chapter 16½ - HUMAN RIGHTS, ARTICLE III. - DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES, DIVISION 3. - DISCRIMINATION,

We invite you to add us on Facebook and Twitter, as we work towards eliminating housing discrimination! For Facebook, please find us at HOPE, Inc. Fair Housing Center (you can click here to go directly to our page). For Twitter, please find us at @hope_fhc (you can click here to go directly to the page). Thank you!

On September 18th, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Schaw v. Habitat for Humanity of Citrus County, in a very easy to read opinion that spelled out the process for determining whether an accommodation for a disability is reasonable and necessary. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kevin Newsom, the author of the opinion, acknowledged that the concept is a “little squishy”, and analogized that the difference between an accommodation that is required and one that is a fundamental alteration is the difference between saddling a camel and removing its hump.

In 2006, when Albert Schaw was 20, he fractured his cervical spine in a wrestling accident and became a quadriplegic. Because of his disability, he was not able to get gainful employment and received Social

A judge ordered a landlord to pay a $5,000 fine to the city and $12,000 in damages to a tenant for threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on the tenant, in New York City. New York’s Commission on Human Rights brought the complaint against the Queens landlord to an administrative judge. The commission alleged that the landlord texted and emailed the tenant that she would call ICE if she didn’t pay her rent.

Threatening to call immigration enforcement is classified as discrimination under New York City’s human-rights law, according to the commission. Lawyers for the commission said they believe it is the first case in the country where an individual was fined for threatening to call immigration authorities.

City lawyers accused the

What is source of income discrimination? In searching for housing, many people face discrimination by housing providers who are unwilling to rent to voucher holders. As a result, several states and municipalities, including Florida’s Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, have adopted laws prohibiting housing discrimination based on source of income.

This means that it is illegal for a housing provider to keep a person out simply because that person is paying for housing with a subsidy or assistance like Section 8, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), or other benefits programs.

The law in Broward County: Broward County, Florida Code of Ordinances, Chapter 16½ - HUMAN RIGHTS, ARTICLE III. - DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES, DIVISION 3. - DISCRIMINATION,

Would you like to put your fair housing knowledge to the test? Check out the HOPE quiz and see what you know! Please click on the link that's right for your computer, PC (Windows) or Mac (Apple), to download our quiz -

PC users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-PC-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

Mac users:

https://hopefhc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HOPE-questions-for-Mac-Please-save-to-desktop-and-open.zip

The quiz is a Flash animation contained in ZIP files at the links above; please send an e-mail to Rob at rob@hopefhc.com if you're having any issues accessing it. Thank you!

The Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed making changes to the nation’s fair housing rules, a move that fair housing advocates claim is part of a Trump administration effort to “gut” federal protections against housing discrimination. HUD announced that it is proposing changes to its interpretation of the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard, a rule enacted by HUD during the Obama administration and used as a way to enforce the Fair Housing Act.

At its most basic, the updated guidelines revise the current loose, three-step threshold for Fair Housing violations and impose a specific, five-step approach that would require regulators to prove intentional discrimination on the lender’s behalf. On a call with reporters, HUD General Counsel Paul Compton

No talking on the cellphone, no babysitting allowed and no guests! Those are just some of the rules that have been imposed at a South Florida apartment building. Michael Mejias and his wife claim they got kicked out of their home because property manager Elina Hernandez found out they were having a child. Mejias and his wife, Dyonne, have filed a federal lawsuit against Hernandez and the owner of The Royal House Apartments.

The building is located at 4410 W. Flagler St. According to records, it's owned by the Fanny Lichter Revocable Trust.

Mejias said he and his wife enjoyed living at Royal House until his wife started showing. Mejias said he was cornered by Hernandez. "You didn't tell me your wife was pregnant?" Mejias said Hernandez said to him. "I told

We invite you to add us on Facebook and Twitter, as we work towards eliminating housing discrimination! For Facebook, please find us at HOPE, Inc. Fair Housing Center (you can click here to go directly to our page). For Twitter, please find us at @hope_fhc (you can click here to go directly to the page). Thank you!

On July 18, 2019, a federal judge in Maryland denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Bank of America and Safeguard Properties Management by the National Fair Housing Alliance, 19 fair housing organizations and two homeowners for alleged fair housing violations. The suit, filed in June 2018, accuses the two companies of intentionally failing to provide routine exterior maintenance and marketing for Bank of America-owned homes in African American and Latino neighborhoods across 37 metro areas, while consistently maintaining similar bank-owned properties in white neighborhoods.

NFHA said the lawsuit was the culmination of a multi-year investigation by the organization and its fair housing partners that included a review of more than 1,600 Bank of America-owned

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate to protect veterans and low-income families from housing discrimination. Senator Tim Kaine reintroduced the Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2019, which he originally introduced in the previous Congress.

According to a release, many veterans and low-income families pay for their rent through vouchers, and current law allows landlords to discriminate against them by denying housing based on how they pay their rent. This bill would expand protections under the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination based on the tenants source of income or veteran status, which would give more families access to affordable housing.

“Our nation's veterans and vulnerable families should have the same right to a home as any

Getting older is not easy. Yet aging in South Florida brings its own challenges, including affordable housing, new technology, transportation, and specific issues that LGBTQ seniors face — like discrimination in nursing homes. More than 200 seniors and caregivers gathered at Nova Southeastern University in Davie Friday for a symposium on all things aging.  

"We need discrimination protections in housing," Elizabeth Schwartz said. A Hollywood native, now she practices law and LGBTQ advocacy in Miami. She also co-chairs the national board for SAGE - an organization that provides advocacy and services to elderly LGBTQ people. "These nursing home who are discriminating against folks can't do that," Schwartz said. LGBTQ seniors are more likely than other groups to

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a federal enforcement agency covering consumer financial laws. The CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, foreclosure relief services, debt collectors and other financial companies operating in the United States.

Every day, consumers submit complaints to the CFPB about a wide variety of consumer financial products and services. Complaints received by the Bureau help its work to regulate consumer financial products or services, enforce laws, and educate and empower people to make better-informed financial decisions. 

This past January, the CFPB released their Complaint Snapshot on Mortgages, covering complaints from the previous two

Thumbs up to law firm Relman, Dane & Colfax on a federal appeal win establishing a landlord's duty to protect a tenant from racial harassment by a neighbor. 

In a decision handed down on March 4, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit established that a landlord who knows or should know about racial harassment of a tenant by a neighbor and fails "to take prompt action to correct and end the harassment while having the power to do so" can be held liable under the Fair Housing Act. The decision in Francis v. Kings Park Manor is one of the few federal appeals court decisions directly addressing a landlord's obligation in the case of tenant-on-tenant harassment.  

The case arose out of a rental agreement Donahue Francis signed with Kings Park

In Pembroke Park, a mobile home park has been charging higher fees to some people to apply to live there, based on the countries from which those people come. The property is called Lakeside Park Estates and is owned by Trinity Broadcasting. The housing application says that US residents have to pay a $50 application processing fee. It lists different, seemingly arbitrary fees for others, such as $80 for a person from Cuba, $135 for a person from Peru, up to $175 for a person from Colombia.

National origin discrimination (treating people differently because of which country from which they come) is illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. Several countries are actually missing from the list, notably countries with large Black populations such as Jamaica, the Bahamas

We at HOPE are celebrating the tremendous life and legacy of a man who was a pillar of our organization throughout its history: extraordinarily dedicated civil rights lawyer Randy Berg.   Mr. Berg’s body of work in fair housing legal advocacy spans over four decades. His statewide case work reflects representation of every class of protected persons under the law; covering rental, sales, lending, zoning, advertising, denial of reasonable accommodations and modifications, accessible design and construction, and other housing-related transactions.

The individuals represented in most of Mr. Berg's cases may have otherwise been denied representation and/or justice due to financial limitation. Mr. Berg worked on fair housing cases, inside and outside of partnership with HOPE,

We will be hosting our annual Broward County Fair Housing Month Celebration at the end of April!  The theme this year is Empowerment through Fair Housing, and the keynote speaker will be Leon W. Russell, the Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors!

The event will be on Friday, April 26, 2019 from 9am to 2pm at the Germack Event Venue, 4860 Griffin Rd, Davie, FL 33314.

For more information, please contact Ms. Charmaine Williams at charmaine@hopefhc.com and (954) 567-0545.

Thank you!

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio (FHCGSA), Fair Housing Justice Center of New York (FHJC), and Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, Inc. of Miami (HOPE, Inc.), collectively the “Fair Housing Groups,” settled an historic lawsuit with Facebook that will drive unprecedented and sweeping changes across its advertising platform.

In March of 2018, NFHA and three of its member organizations filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Inc. in federal court in New York City, alleging that Facebook’s advertising platform enabled landlords and real estate brokers to exclude people of color, families with children, women, people with disabilities, and other protected groups from receiving housing ads. NFHA and its members were

HOPE is pleased to announce joint settlements in January of 2019 in two federal lawsuits, concerning pregnancy and disability.

The first lawsuit involved multiple families in two Broward properties managed by the same company. In January 2018, HOPE was contacted by an expectant mother who lived at Sorrento Apartments in Miramar. Her lease was not being renewed because she had failed to disclose her pregnancy and had also failed to provide a doctor’s note confirming the pregnancy and an ultrasound picture. HOPE investigated, and in April 2018 filed a lawsuit with the assistance of attorney Matthew Dietz.

The case was featured on the media, locally and nationally, then three additional families contacted HOPE. One family had entered into a new lease at

We’d like to announce our 26th annual Miami Dade Fair Housing Month event, including a FREE workshop!

26th Annual Miami-Dade County Fair Housing Month Celebration: “All Hands on Deck”

Friday, April 5, 2019

DoubleTree Biscayne Bay, 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., Miami, FL 33132

9:00am – 12:00pm: FREE Workshop

Miami-Dade County Fair Housing Enforcement – Miami-Dade County Commission on Human Rights

Affordable Housing: State of the Community – Evian White De Leon, Esq., Deputy Director, Miami Homes For All

Community Reinvestment in South Florida – Cornell Crews, Jr., Executive Director, Community Reinvestment Alliance of South Florida

The Color of Wealth in Miami – Dr. Darrick Hamilton, Executive

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Please join HOPE at our two annual Fair Housing Month celebrations - one in Miami-Dade County, one in Broward County. Both events will honor the passage, impact, and legacy of the Fair Housing Act - signed in April 1968 - and other fair housing laws. The Miami-Dade event will take place from 9am to 2pm on Friday, April 5, 2019 at the Biscayne Bay DoubleTree in Miami. The Broward event will take place from 9am to 2pm on Friday, April 26, 2019 at the Germack Event Venue in Davie.  We hope to see you there!  For more details, please call us at (305) 651-4673 in Miami-Dade and (954) 567-0545 in Broward.  Thank you!

Hope you're well! In addition to the training coming in Broward County, we'd like to announce a free training in Tampa: Fair Housing & Civil Rights Related Programs Requirements for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance, presented by Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence, Inc. (HOPE, Inc) in partnership with City of Tampa Office of Human Rights and Hillsborough County Equal Opportunity Office.

This training is FREE, with a working lunch included! Please register quickly, as space is limited! This is a one-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME.

The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability related federal

HOPE would like to announce an upcoming FREE training: Fair Housing & Civil Rights Related Programs Requirements for Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance, presented by Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence (HOPE), Inc. with special thanks to Consolidated Credit Solutions and Academy Mortgage Corporation.

This is a one-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal
financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME. The course will guide
participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and
disability related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
-Fair Housing Act, Florida Fair Housing Act, Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and
1964, Section 504, Americans with Disabilities Act
-HUD’s Affirmative Fair Housing

A North Florida man claims his landlady evicted him after discovering that he is gay. Randal Coffman, of Middleburg, Fla., said he moved into an apartment in the FoxMeadow Equestrian Estates in early December.

On Dec. 15, his landlady, Jackie Cooper, told him he couldn’t have female guests over late at night. Coffman replied that he wouldn’t have a problem abiding by Cooper’s rules, because he was gay. She then told him he had to leave because she objected to his sexual orientation. Coffman took out his phone and began recording the exchange. In the video, Cooper is heard saying, “And you didn’t tell me you were gay until yesterday?” “Why would I have to tell you I’m gay?” Coffman replies. “I don’t have to.” “Do you think I want homosexuals coming back and forth in my place

Would you like to put your fair housing knowledge to the test? Check out the HOPE quiz and see what you know! Please click on the link that's right for your computer, PC (Windows) or Mac (Apple), to download our quiz -

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Federal officials have accused a New Orleans-area parish of violating the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against people with disabilities.  News outlets reports the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday against St. Bernard Parish in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.  The lawsuit says the parish failed to provide reasonable accommodations to its zoning ordinance, as officials repeatedly refused to allow two group homes for teenagers with mental and emotional disabilities to operate in single-family zoning districts. 

In a statement, the Justice Department says the homes satisfied all of Louisiana's relevant licensing requirements.  Parish Assistant District Attorney William McGoey says the DA’s office, which represents the parish in civil cases, does

In the United States, where you live matters. Where you live determines your life expectancy, household income, chances of being incarcerated, credit score, chances of becoming a

The lawsuit also included a claim regarding discriminatory advertising based on the use of “NO SECTION 8” when advertising apartments for rent. Source

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But even the people who lead the program say sometimes, there’s no choice at all. “You know, I knew it was happening, but I didn't realize to that extent,” said Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“My first reaction was we have to do something about this,” Carson said. HUD is grappling with results of a first-of-its kind study showing landlords often say no to renters

This is a one-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
-Fair Housing Act (as amended), Florida Fair Housing Act, Civil Rights Act of 1866, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with

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Wells Fargo dodged a Fair Housing Act lawsuit from Miami Gardens back in June 2014 when a federal judge ruled the city had insufficient evidence to support claims of discriminatory lending. The suit alleged the San Francisco-based bank charged higher mortgage rates to Black and Hispanic borrowers compared to their white counterparts who were similarly situated. Miami Gardens claimed that in turn, this led to decreased property values and caused a wave of foreclosures during the 2008 housing crisis. Now the third largest Black-populated city in the country is reviving the fight after filing a notice of appeal with the U.S Court of Appeals for

Facebook has previously faced lawsuits from housing groups after ProPublica reported in 2016 that advertisements for rental homes were targeting ads based on an "affinity" for demographics like African-American, Asian-American or Hispanic or excluding people interested in terms that could be associated with protected groups.

HUD's complaint specifically says that as of July 2018, Facebook's ad targeting tools allowed advertisers to show ads only to men or women, not show ads to users interested in terms associated with persons with disabilities, religions, having

In February 2017, Mrs. Johnson contacted HOPE for assistance with a reasonable accommodation request made for her husband to have an emotional support animal (ESA). She also sought help regarding fines imposed by the condominium association because of the ESA. The Johnsons reside at a condominium community in Lauderhill, Florida. Mr. Johnson is a person with a disability who requires an emotional support animal.

The ESA was acquired on November 6, 2011. At the time the condominium community was pet- friendly. After a no-pet resolution was passed by the condo association board in April 2015, the association granted Mr.

This is a one-day training for recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance such as CDBG, NSP, and HOME. The course will guide participants through an exploration into fair housing, civil rights, and disability related federal regulations and laws.

Key Topics of Training:
-Fair Housing Act (as amended), Florida Fair Housing Act, Civil Rights Act of 1866, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act

Mary Walsh, 72, and Bev Nance, 68, both of Shrewsbury, Missouri, say the Friendship Village senior living community, which has locations in Sunset Hills and Chesterfield, Missouri, denied occupancy to them to live at the Sunset Hills community in 2016 because their relationship violated its cohabitation policy that defines marriage as “the union of one man and one woman, as marriage is understood in the Bible,” according to the lawsuit.

The case may mark the latest front-line legal clash in deciding questions of sex discrimination and religious freedoms, legal observers say.

The Department names Randy Hames and his Cullman, Alabama rental property company, Hames Marina, LLC as defendants in the lawsuit.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, alleges that since 2011, Hames sexually harassed numerous women who lived on his rental property. The suit alleges he demanded or pressured female tenants to engage in sexual acts with him in exchange for rent or prevent eviction; evicting female tenants when they refused his advances; stalking female attendants and entering their residences without permission and making unwelcome sexual

The National Fair Housing Alliance and two homeowners from Maryland filed a lawsuit against the two companies. The 19 groups that make up the Alliance claim the two companies failed to provide routine exterior maintenance for Bank of America-owned homes in minority neighborhoods across 37 metro areas. They also claim BofA and Safeguard failed to market the properties.

The National Fair Housing Alliance compared the properties with mostly white neighborhoods. The Alliance alleges BofA consistently maintained its homes in predominately white neighborhoods

The groups say they found shocking

Kaderbhai Ali Asgar left India to find a place where he'd be able grow as a chemical engineer, landing in a country he believed was "the land of the free."

His dreams mostly held true as he and his family made their lives in Tampa, Fla., until November 2016, when they were on the verge of moving to Davis Islands, an upscale island neighborhood near the city's downtown.

Asgar and his wife had entered into a contract for a house in the area, and had scheduled a final walk-through of the property with the two sellers, Asgar's wife's parents, two realtors, movers and a cleaning person. Asgar, who is Muslim, was wearing a topi, a woven cap with religious meaning, and his wife and mother-in-law wore headscarves.

But after they arrived at the house, a neighbor, who law enforcement

When the Fair Housing Act was passed on April 11, 1968, the goal was to both eliminate housing discrimination as well as encourage residential integration. While some progress has been made over the past 50 years, there is still a long way to go.

According to the 2018 Fair Housing Trends Report from the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), more than half a million housing discrimination complaints have been processed since 1996, and more than 28,000 housing discrimination complaints were reported in 2017 alone.

“Where one lives determines the likelihood you will attend and graduate from a good school; if you have access to healthy food, clean air, and healthcare; if affordable credit is available for homeownership and investment in

But, California and 21 other states already have done so, according to two LGBTQ websites.

Currently, it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in Rohrabacher’s home state as well as in such states as Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico and Utah, the sites say.

Twenty of those states, including California, also extend fair housing protections to people on the basis of “gender identity.”

Rohrabacher, a Republican seeking a 16th term in Congress, told Orange County Realtors delegation during a May 16 meeting at his Capitol Hill office he opposes a pending measure extending the U.S. Fair Housing Act to gays,

Tiesha Davis was informed that her lease at Sorrento of Miramar isn't being renewed.

"Every day I'm going looking for apartments. I can't focus on my job. I can't focus on my children," Davis, who works full time, told Local 10 News.

Sorrento is a privately owned affordable housing complex built, in part, with tax dollars.

Because of a massive affordable housing shortage, it took Davis almost a year to get into Sorrento.

Davis said shortly after moving in, she got a call from Jose Galindo, the assistant property manager.

"He said, 'We're not going to renew your lease.' And I said, 'Why?'" Davis said. "He said, 'Because

In spite of decades of fair housing laws, studies in different cities have shown that black families still face routine discrimination when they attempt to use federal housing vouchers to rent an apartment.

Landlords in Washington, D.C., are more likely to deny access to housing, or to provide confusing or incorrect information, to black families seeking to use a voucher, according to a report released this week from the Equal Rights Center, which seeks to end discrimination in housing and employment.

The report tracked two sets of African-American families, with one group attempting to rent an apartment using a voucher to help subsidize the cost and the other set of families inquiring about an apartment without mentioning a voucher.

Discrimination based on source of

A 2017 study called “Up from Slavery? African American Intergenerational Economic Mobility Since 1880” traces back the income data of fathers and sons to 1880, which marked 15 years after the Civil War’s end. Authors William Collins and Marianne Wanamaker analyzed data from 1880 to 2000 to get a clearer look at which families achieved upward mobility in the years after the Civil

This modern-day redlining persisted in 61 metro areas even when controlling for applicants’ income, loan amount and neighborhood, according to a mountain of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records analyzed by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.

The yearlong analysis, based on 31 million records, relied on techniques used by leading academics, the Federal Reserve and Department of Justice to identify lending disparities.

It found a pattern of troubling denials for people of color across the country, including in major metropolitan areas such

Grants will support more than 150 fair housing organizations nationwide

These grants will allow the groups to provide Fair Housing enforcement through testing in the rental and sales market, to file Fair Housing complaints to HUD, and to conduct investigations. The education and outreach activities these organizations conduct also help to educate the public, housing providers and local governments about their rights and

Broward commissioners unanimously voted to expand the county’s housing anti-discrimination regulations Tuesday to ensure military personnel and returning veterans have access to housing and that victims of domestic assault aren’t victimized again.

The discrimination exists, said Wynnora Wilson of Legal Aid Service of Broward County, who has worked with a variety of housing programs.

“I saw firsthand … landlords actually enunciating that they would never rent to a veteran. I found that stunning, but there was absolutely nothing I could do,” Wilson said. “It’s ridiculous that the brave men and women who served this country and sometimes

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The Competitive Workforce Act is supported by Florida Competes, a coalition of nine Fortune 500 companies and more than 450 small businesses from across the state, Diamond said. Last year, 50 members of the Florida House signed on as co-sponsors to a similar bill – more than ever before.

“Florida businesses are strong supporters of this bill,” Diamond said. “Our businesses

The amended federal Fair Housing Act prohibits, nationally, any discrimination in the sale, rental, lending, insurance, or advertising of housing on the basis of: Race · Color · National Origin · Religion · Disability · Sex · Familial Status (as in whether or not you have children)

Florida’s fair housing laws provide protection against discrimination on these additional bases: HIV Status