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Housing Discrimination Complaints Up Slightly in 2017
There were 28,843 reported housing discrimination complaints in 2017, a slight increase from complaints reported in 2016, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance’s (NFHA) 2018 Fair Housing Trends Report.
The NHFA pointed out that 71.3 percent of the complaints were handled by private, nonprofit fair housing organizations. In comparison, state and local governmental Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies processed 6,896 complaints, the Department of Housing and Urban Development only 1,311 complaints—less than five percent of the total—and the Department of Justice brought 41 cases. The three most prevalent complaints were related to disability (57 percent), race (19 percent), and family status (nine percent).
“We must commit to making every neighborhood a place of opportunity for its residents and to making all communities open to all people, regardless of race, national origin, disability, or other protected status,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of NFHA. “It has been 50 years, and the Fair Housing Act still has not been fully implemented. We cannot build a thriving society as long as our nation is plagued by discrimination, segregation, and severe economic inequality.”
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