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Showing posts from August, 2014

HUD TO PROVIDE FURTHER GUIDANCE ON DISCRIMINATORY EFFECTS IN RENTAL HOUSING

In February of last year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Discriminatory Effects Final Rule to formalize a national standard for determining Fair Housing violations. “Through the issuance of this Rule, HUD is reaffirming its commitment to enforcing the Fair Housing Act in a consistent and uniform manner,” said HUD secretary Shaun Donovan. The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing practices that result in disparate impact on a group of persons because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. The practice of running criminal background checks on potential tenants may now be prohibited under the Discriminatory Effects Standard Final Rule. Many in the rental housing industry have expressed serious concern over the final rule, specifically, the limitations placed on tenant screening. Criminal background checks provide some level of assurance that measures are being taken to uphold resident safety and viability. By