Fair
Housing Information Hotline: 1-800-390-4845
What
is the Fair Housing Act?
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination
in housing because of:
- race
- color
- national
origin
- religion
- sex
- domestic partnership and civil union status
- familial
status (including children under the age of 18 living with
parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing
custody of children under 18)
- handicap
(disability)
The
Fair Housing Act covers most housing. In some circumstances, the
Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units,
single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker
and housing operated by organizations or private clubs that limit
occupancy to members.
Seven
Technical Requirements:
Based on the Fair Housing Act, as amended, there are seven technical
requirements in the Accessibility Guidelines for covered buildings.
1. Accessible
Entrance on an Accessible Route
2. Accessible Public and Common-Use areas
3. Usable Doors
4. Accessible Routes Into and Through the Dwelling Unit
5. Accessible Light Switches, Electrical Outlets, and Environmental
Controls
6. Reinforced Walls in Bathroom
7. Usable Kitchens and Bathrooms
Fair
Housing Act, as amended:
-
Prohibits
housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion,
sex, national origin, domestic partnership or civil union, familial status, or disability.
-
Sets
certain requirements for accessible design in new construction.
-
Covers
residential multi-family dwellings for first occupancy after
March 13, 1991 (covered multi-family dwellings are all
types of buildings with four or more units).
-
Includes
condos, single-story townhouses, garden apartments, vacation
timeshares, dormitories, homeless shelters.
-
Requires
covered buildings with an elevator to make all units
in buildings accessible.
-
Requires
covered buildings without an elevator to make all ground-floor
units (including ground-floors at different levels in the same
building) accessible.
Examples of Housing Discrimination:
The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from
taking any of the following actions based on race, religion or
any other protected category:
Advertising
or making any statement that indicates a preference based on a
group characteristic, such as skin color.
Falsely
denying that a rental unit is available.
Setting
more restrictive standards, such as higher income, for certain
tenants.
Refusing
to rent to members of certain groups.
Refusing
to accommodate the needs of disabled tenants, such as allowing
a guide dog.
Setting
different terms for some tenants, such as adopting an inconsistent
policy of responding to late rent payments, or terminating a tenancy
for a discriminatory reason.
For More Information:
The
US
Department of Housing and Urban Development has many
publications available related to various Housing Discrimination
topics. Information and instructions on how to file a complaint
with them are available by calling their Housing Discrimination
Hotline at 1-800-669-9777.
The Fair
Housing National Multimedia Campaign is designed to
increase public awareness of the Fair Housing Act and its protections,
encourage the reporting of fair housing discrimination to the
appropriate agencies, and provide information and resources to
help communities and institutions support individuals and families
who exercise their fair housing rights.
The
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses several
complaint categories
(http://www.hud.gov/complaints/index.cfm).
To File a Housing Discrimination Complaint with the Federal Government:
New Jersey residents may contact:
Fair Housing Enforcement Center
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
26 Federal Plaza, Room 3532
New York, NY 10278-0068
(212)
542-7519 or 1-800-496-4294
TTY (212) 264-0927
You
can
file an online housing discrimination complaint
at the HUD web site
(http://www.hud.gov/complaints/index.cfm).
What is the New Jersey
Law Against Discrimination?
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)
makes it unlawful to subject people to differential treatment
based on race, creed, color, national origin, nationality, ancestry,
age, sex, (including pregnancy), domestic partnership and civil union status, familial status, marital status,
affectional or sexual orientation, atypical hereditary cellular
or blood trait, genetic information, liability for military service,
and mental or physical disability, including perceived disability
and AIDS and HIV status. The LAD prohibits unlawful discrimination
in employment, housing, places of public accommodation, credit
and business contracts. Not all of the foregoing prohibited bases
for discrimination are protected in all of these areas of activity.
For example, familial status is only protected with respect to
housing.
*Amendment
to LAD
On
September 5, 2002, Governor McGreevey signed the Section 8 Anti-Discrimination
bill which increases penalties for landlords who refuse to rent
or lease to persons who receive federal rent subsidies or have
children under the age of 18 (senior and age-restricted housing
excluded). Under this law, a landlord who discriminates can be
fined up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $25,000 for
a second offense. A person bringing action because of discrimination
may be awarded a reasonable attorney's fee. The Attorney General
will notify landlords and tenants of the law.
This
law amends the existing "Law Against Discrimination"
by prohibiting landlords from discriminating against tenants based
upon a tenants' source of lawful income, such as Section 8 vouchers,
or the age of their children. In addition, it also broadens the
powers of housing authorities so that they can bring suit on behalf
of a tenant who is discriminated against. The law is supported
by a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that says landlords cannot
deny an apartment to tenants based solely on their sources of
income.
On December 19, 2006, Governor Corzine further amended the Law against Discrimination to specify that gender identity or expression is a protected class against discrimination.
For More Information or To File a Housing Discrimination Complaint
Contact:
New
Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety's Division
on Civil Rights.
The Division on Civil Rights maintains the following five regional
offices:
Trenton
Regional Office:
140 East Front Street, PO Box 090
Trenton, NJ 08625-0090
Telephone: 609-292-4605
Fax: 609-984-3812
TDD: 609-292-1785 |
Jersey City Neighborhood Office
Hudson County Housing Resource Center
3rd Floor
574 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
|
| Atlantic
City Satellite Office:
26 Pennsylvania Avenue
Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Telephone: 609-441-3100
Fax: 609-441-3578 |
Camden
Regional Office:
2 Riverside Drive, Suite 402
Camden, NJ 08103
Telephone: 856-614-2550
Fax: 856-614-2568
TDD: 609-757-2958 |
Newark
Regional Office:
31 Clinton Street, PO Box 46001
Newark, NJ 07102
Telephone: 973-648-2700
Fax: 973-648-4405
TDD: 973-648-4678 |
Paterson
Regional Office:
100 Hamilton Plaza
Paterson, NJ 07501
Telephone: 973-977-4500
Fax: 973-977-4511
TDD: 973-977-1955
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Predatory
Lending
What is Predatory Lending?
DON’T
BE A VICTIM OF PREDATORY LENDING, BEWARE OF THESE PREDATORY LENDING
TACTIC
-
Exceedingly high interest rates and inflated fees in comparison
with other lenders.
-
Bait and switch tactics where a mortgage broker or lender
knowingly offers one set of terms, which are more appealing
but are not readily available and then pressures you into
signing a contract with more expensive terms and hidden fees.
-
Door-to-door high pressure salespersons and pitches for home
equity loans related to home improvement contracts or contracts
for the installation of items such as drapes and carpets.
-
Salespersons with backgrounds similar to yours who attempt
to gain your trust. This tactic is oftentimes used to lull
a homeowner into a false sense of security, causing the homeowner
to make a decision based on trust instead of knowledge and
understanding.
-
Mail, radio and television ads that claim "No job! No
credit! No problem! You can still qualify for a loan based
on your home equity." These ads encourage you to place
your home at risk. If you can’t make the payments, you
will lose your home! Offers that sound too good to be true,
usually are.
-
High-pressure sales tactics requiring you to sign a loan contract
right away. If the offer is good today, it should probably
be good tomorrow, AFTER you have reviewed the contract and
have consulted a knowledgeable, uninvolved advisor.
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