Fair Housing: State vs. Federal Claims & How the Laws are Enforced

How State, Local, and Federal protections can Conflict, and What it means to You?

You should be familiar with the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), but did you know that your state and local municipalities can adopt fair housing laws as well? Sometimes state and local protected classes mirror the federally protected classes; sometimes they’re quite different. Sometimes they dramatically increase the number of protections you need to be aware of… and sometimes the federal and state or local protections even conflict. There are a lot of rules, regulations, and legislation that impact the housing industry. When it comes to fair housing laws specifically – that is civil rights in housing.

Arm yourself with information and bone up on the enforcement process in order to protect your business interests. Sign up today to learn how long a resident or prospect has to file a suit or complaint and what each process entails.

This webinar by industry expert speaker Jo Becker will explain how fair housing laws are enforced at each level, ranging from private lawsuits to formal complaints filed with administrative agencies. Sign up today to learn about the process and, just importantly, to assure you and your team aren’t focused on the forest while missing the trees.

In addition to the presentation, hand-outs attendees will also receive extra resource handout including:

• Key Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) memos and federal register documents pertaining to various federally protected classes
•  A multitude of HUD & Dept. of Justice documents pertaining to assistance and service animals
•  And more!

Webinar Objectives

After attending this session you will be able to:

• Appreciate the differences between state and local vs. federal fair housing protections
• Recognize how state, local, and federal protections can conflict, and what it means to you
• Locate the governmental agencies and/or nonprofit organizations HUD works with that are operating in your area 
• Realize how HUD’s state and local partners can be a resource to you
• Understand applicable statutes of limitations, possible damages, and suit/complaint processes
• Arm yourself with information about the enforcement process (be it a lawsuit in court or an administrative process conducted by HUD or one of its partners) in order to protect your business

Webinar Highlights

• Review of the Fair Housing Act’s 7 protected classes
• Examples of additional protected classes sometimes added by state or local jurisdictions
• The statute of limitations on fair housing complaints
• The different processes for lawsuits vs. formal, administrative complaints
• Possible damages for fair housing violations

Who Should Attend

• Leasing and on-site managers
• Portfolio managers
• Compliance officers
• Resident services coordinators (in affordable housing communities)
• Community concierges (in high-end housing communities)
• Independent landlords or small, “Mom and Pop” operators
• Service technicians, lead technicians, maintenance supervisors
• Homeowners association and community managers