Lyndsey Thompson

Social Ethics

Dr. Anderson

12 April 2004

“Fair Housing: The Need for Local Enforcement”

Like most growing cities, Bowling Green, Kentucky has its own set of issues concerning housing, its availability or lack thereof, its location, as well as issues of ownership. Bowling Green has limited its available housing to one particular area in which to support the majority of its minority population in need of housing assistance. This is not to say of course, that all of Bowling Green’s affordable housing is located in this one area, but rather, those minorities in search of affordable housing are steered in that general direction by real estate agents and landlords alike. Due to the lack of education about housing discrimination, many minorities (black, Hispanic, foreign-born, handicapped, etc.) are unknowingly being herded into neighborhoods that are completely segregated from the more affluent parts of the city. This steering takes place simply by turning them away from other establishments located in more prestigious areas. Ignorance has left many minority members living on the “wrong side of the tracks” in apartments or houses that have received little to no maintenance in years, and at the mercy of slumlords who may or may not abide by the legal system when dealing with tenants.

In cities across the nation housing discrimination has become a hot topic of discussion. Fair housing laws have become the focus of many television commercials and newspaper articles. Their intentions are to educate the public on the issue of housing discrimination, how to avoid falling victim to it, and whom to inform if you have. Bowling Green has attempted to follow suit with the rest of the nation, focusing its attention on educating the community on the issues of housing discrimination. In Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, education was the first topic discussed. As an immediate action to work toward remedying the problem of housing discrimination, Bowling Green started its crusade by producing an anti-discrimination campaign and airing service announcements on local media. The campaign’s focus is on actions that are and are not allowed based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status or handicap. For instance, refusal to sell, rent, or negotiate for a house due to any one of the afore-mentioned statuses is illegal, yet most people are unaware of that fact.

The problem we now face is “Whom do we inform if we have fallen victim to housing discrimination?” The Bowling Green Daily News has been covering the Bowling Green City Commission as it wrestles with the idea of changing city ordinance to include local policy on housing and discrimination. The change would give the Bowling Green Human Rights Commission local investigative powers instead of passing complaints on to the state and/or federal offices as it does now. Linda McCray, the executive director of the human rights commission explained that, “What our amendments do is allow us to do local enforcement here in Bowling Green.”

The ordinance would do two things: expand housing protection to the disabled and those discriminated against because of family status (such as number of children); and allow the Bowling Green Human Rights Commission to accept and investigate housing complaints as it now does employment and public-accommodations complaints. http://www.bgdailynews.com

Local enforcement would aid in the prevention of housing discrimination by giving the human rights commission the ability to lease, rent, exchange, or sublease property as a way to ’remedy‘ the problem. This would in turn discourage those landlords and realtors from practicing discriminatory tactics. It would also give community members a closer point of contact and a more expedient response when complaints are made. Currently, all complaints are directed to a distant enforcement agency, the State Human Rights Commission in Louisville, Kentucky.

Although fair housing seems like a good idea, there are a few individuals and organizations that are arguing against the implementation of local fair housing enforcement here in Bowling Green, namely landlords, realtors, and local land owners. Many are under the impression that implementing local enforcement would only fuel the BG Human Rights Committee to ’find‘ complaints. The Human Rights Committee would be paid $1,800 per complaint to aid in the investigation of that complaint, building funds, as well as training for investigators and office staff. Landlords see that $1,800 as reason enough to fabricate false complaints. The Human Rights Committee sees that money as a great opportunity to discourage discrimination in the Bowling Green area.

In attempting to implement a local fair housing policy, Bowling Green would be stepping out as a trendsetter. There are very few cities in the United States that have local enforcement of fair housing. According to the numbers given by the National Fair Housing Advocate Online, unless you happen to live in a city whose Human Rights Committee has substantial equivalency certification (certification by the government to enforce federal laws in the community) or hosts the state or regional agency, local enforcement is almost unheard of. No state has enforcement in every one of its cities. In many cases, private agencies have been know to cross state lines for those who live near the border of that state but are a great distance from the nearest enforcement agency in their own state. Please refer to Table 1…

Table 1. Agency Listings

(Examples of 10 different states)

State / # Of Enforcement
Agencies / Agency Type
Gov. / Private
Alabama / 3 / 0 / 3
Arizona / 6 / 3 / 3
California / 42 / 15 / 27
Florida / 20 / 6 / 14
Indiana / 1 / 0 / 1
Kentucky / 5 / 3 / 2
North Carolina / 9 / 8 / 1
New York / 8 / 0 / 8
Texas / 10 / 6 / 4
Tennessee / 7 / 3 / 4

http://www.fairhousing.com

Table 2. State and “Local” Fair Housing Enforcement Agencies in Kentucky

Agency / Street / City / State / Zip / Phone
Kentucky Commission on Human Rights / 332 West Broadway
7th Floor / Louisville / KY / 40202 / 502-595-4024
Lexington Fayette Urban County Human Rights Comm. / 162 E Main Suite 226 / Lexington / KY / 40507 / 606-252-4931
Louisville and Jefferson Co.
Human Relations / 410 West Chestnut Center suite 300a / Louisville / KY / 40202 / 502-574-3247
Kentucky Fair Housing Council / 436 S. 7th St.
Suite #201 / Louisville / KY / 40203 / 502-583-3247

http://www.fairhousinglaw.org

Fair Housing Hub U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
New England Offices / Connecticut, Main, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
New York/ New Jersey Offices / New York, New Jersey
Mid-Atlantic Office / Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Southeast/ Caribbean Office / Alabama, the Caribbean, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Tennessee
Midwest Office / Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
Southwest Office / Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Great Plains Office / Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Rocky Mountain Office / Colorado, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Pacific/ Hawaii Office / Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada
Northwest/ Alaska office / Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

Local enforcement could be a reality for Bowling Green in the not too distant future. This could only aid in the betterment of this community and its members if the funds are used for the purpose that they were intended. Education and enforcement are the keys to establishing a healthy community. It is essential that we support both if we hope to continue to prosper and grow for many years to come.