The Fair Housing Act was enacted 50 years ago, in April 1968. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is marking the occasion in true Sixties fashion: through community activism.
The Fair Housing Act was designed to prevent discriminatory housing practices on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin, and was amended over the years to include protections for sex, familial status, and disability. It took decades for the protections to take root, and unfortunately there are still infractions to this day.
According to the 2018 Fair Housing Trends Report from the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), there were 30,000 housing discrimination complaints nationwide in 2017. The study reports that over half a million complaints have been processed since 1996, the year the NFHA began collecting data. Those numbers cast an unflattering light on the real estate industry and its efforts to ensure equal housing opportunities to all. And there is a measurable cost: since 1988, nearly $1 billion has been paid in compensation to victims of mortgage lending discrimination and other fair housing violations.
Now, on the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the real estate industry is taking action. NAR is partnering with the Women’s Council of REALTORS®, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), and the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP). NAR’s goal: create initiatives that help enforce fair housing and property rights, and take a leading role in the advancement of fair housing efforts to strengthen U.S. communities.
Visit www.FairHousing.realtor to learn why NAR says, “Fair Housing Makes US Stronger.”