Opening Doors, Renting to All

It’s against the law to discriminate but that hasn’t stopped many owners or managers from refusing to rent to minorities. Now, however, landlords who discriminate and get caught can expect to pay huge penalties to the federal government and victims of housing bias. Perhaps that punishment will begin to reduce these illegal practices--25 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act.

In suburban Detroit--a predominantly white area surrounding a predominantly black city--the U.S. Justice Department dispatched black and white undercover “testers” to apartment complexes. White couples were told of vacancies. Black couples were told that no apartments were available.

The owners and managers, while admitting to no wrong-doing, have now agreed to pay a record $350,000 in civil penalties: $125,000 will go straight to the U.S. Treasury, the remaining $225,000 will go to prospective black renters who were turned away when the buildings had vacancies.

Other landlords may soon be in for a similar surprise. Justice is conducting random investigations in Detroit and six other cities. While the department won’t reveal the locations, Los Angeles and Orange counties certainly belong on the list. In this diverse region, the feds also should target minorities who refuse to rent to other minorities, a common problem at the affordable end of the market.

This new federal aggressiveness on fair housing represents the most positive legacy of former HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce. Although he came under fire because of scandals during the Reagan Administration, Pierce did push Congress to amend the Fair Housing Act in 1989 to allow civil penalties and damages for victims of housing bias. Armed with those new remedies, the Justice Department decided to use testers, similarly dressed blacks and whites with nearly identical credentials, to pose as prospective renters. Local fair-housing councils have also used testers successfully.

Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968, a week after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated. Minorities 25 years later are still judged by the color of their skin. The only indisputable test in the rental housing market is whether the tenant can pay the rent.