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April is Fair Housing Month
April is quickly approaching and that means that Fair Housing Month will be here before you know it. Check out the information below to learn more about fair housing and for resources to help plan activities for Fair Housing Month. Contact Tina Dill for questions or recommendations at 303-660-7460.
Fair Housing Choice in Douglas County
Douglas County is strongly committed to affirmatively furthering fair housing. The CDBG program provides a platform to affirmatively further fair housing, and partner with other County departments and local organizations that promote self-sufficiency, to help residents strive toward meeting their basic needs, and essentially reduce barriers to fair housing. The program funds various public service projects and provides support through the combined efforts of Subgrantees and other partners participating in these efforts. This reduces discrimination and leads to self-sufficiency for Douglas County’s at-risk residents most in need of assistance.
CDBG-Funded Program Furthering Fair Housing
There are several examples of programs funded by the Douglas County CDBG program that affirmatively further fair housing, and in turn, promote self-sufficiency. An example of this is the Downpayment Assistance program administered by the Douglas County Housing Partnership, which allows families to purchase their first home, and helps stabilize families and neighborhoods, while increasing the workforce available to local businesses. Programs administered by the Audio Information Network, Castle Rock Senior Center and Rebuilding Together support the County’s elderly population by allowing them to remain living in their own home as involved members of the community. These types of programs promote independent, active living which ultimately reduces health care costs. These programs are critical to the fabric of our community. The County’s CDBG program also supports organizations such as the Women’s Crisis and Family Outreach Center, Douglas/Elbert Task Force and the WrapArounD program that help families suffering from crime, victimization or other personal hardships. These organizations provide the vital assistance these families need to help lessen difficult life transitions and work toward self-sufficiency.
Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that all communities receiving federal housing and CDBG funding complete an Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing Choice. The AI outlines the impediments to fair housing choice in the public and private sectors.
Updates
Douglas County is in the process of updating the AI through research and community input from meetings and surveys. These surveys were distributed throughout the county to collect information to help us better understand the strengths and challenges in the community. The research and information collected will help determine:
- If housing discrimination is an issue of concern in Douglas County
- The depth of knowledge of fair housing choice
- What is needed to make the community more balanced in terms of the types of services, amenities and housing choices available
Based on research and community input, the Draft AI will be made available for a 30-day public comment period before being finalized. An open house was held to further discuss and review the draft impediments with residents and service providers. Work on the draft will continue throughout the Spring 2012. An electronic copy can be viewed or downloaded from the CDBG website when the document is drafted. Please check local newspapers and updates to the CDBG website for specific dates when the draft document will be available.
Current Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice
The current AI, completed in 2005, is available below.
2005 Douglas County Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) [1MB]
Progress Toward Addressing Impediments
Douglas County has been actively working towards addressing impediments to fair housing identified in the 2005 AI. Some activities undertaken by County staff and their community partners addressing these impediments to fair housing choice within Douglas County are outlined below. Through the Consolidated Plan, the County has certified that it will continue to work toward eliminating these impediments by strengthening partnerships with lenders, developers, and realtors, and providing education to practitioners about fair housing. CDBG staff has identified several program activities that affirmatively further fair housing.
About Fair Housing
Types of Housing Discrimination
Whether people are trying to rent, buy, sell, or finance a home or apartment, as a tenant, homeowner, or landlord, rights and protections are provided by the Federal Fair Housing Act. Illegal housing discrimination can take many forms:
- Realtors showing apartments or homes only in certain neighborhoods
- Advertising housing only to preferred groups of people
- Denials of property insurance
- Discriminatory property appraisals
- Refusals to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities
Reports across the country indicate that those who are low-income, seniors or disabled, seeking to purchase, refinance, or secure a reverse mortgage, are often targets for predatory lenders or loan fraud. Predatory lenders take advantage of borrowers with a variety of abusive practices, such as charging excessive interest rates or loan fees.
Why provide fair housing information?
In Douglas County, fair housing information is provided to the public to:
- Raise awareness of critical fair housing issues
- Educate citizens of their rights and responsibilities
- Provide a local contact name to discuss fair housing questions
- Provide an avenue to file a complaint
About the Fair Housing Act
The federal Fair Housing Act was adopted in 1968 and amended in 1988. HUD is the agency charged with enforcing the Fair Housing Act. According to HUD, impediments to fair housing choice are any actions, omissions, or decisions taken because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin that restrict housing choices, or the availability of housing choices. HUD also considers any actions, omissions or decisions that have the effect of restricting housing choices or the availability of housing choices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin to be impediments to fair housing choice. The State of Colorado also has enacted legislation prohibiting housing discrimination, and State law offers the same protections as the Fair Housing Act, with additional protections based on marital status, creed, and ancestry.
Fair Housing Resources
To better understand fair housing rights and responsibilities, visit HUD's website. Click on the following for more details:
- Fair housing basic facts
- Recent changes to the Fair Housing Act
- Fair Housing Laws and Presidential Executive Orders
- State of Colorado rules and regulations
- Fair housing complaint process
- Download a complaint form
Contacts
For assistance with fair housing concerns contact Jennifer Eby at 303-814-4355 or jeby@douglas.co.us. A letter may also be sent to the closest HUD office, or contact the Housing Discrimination Hotline by email, or at 1-800-669-9777 (Voice) or 1-800-927-9275 (TTY).