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NEW
BRUNSWICK – Real estate agents, landlords,
equal housing opportunity advocates and
others from across the state gathered here
today for the Division on Civil Rights’
first-ever Fair Housing Conference held
at the New Jersey Law Center.
Presented under the working title “Fair
Housing: It’s Not an Option, It’s
the Law,” the conference provided
important, practically-useful training related
to the obligations of housing providers
under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
(LAD), as well as the rights under the LAD
of those seeking to rent or purchase housing.
Among the conference’s featured events
were separate, one-hour workshops focused
on housing discrimination related to race/national
origin, lawful-source-of-income (federal
Section 8 housing assistance) and disability.
The conference also provided training on
the federal Fair Housing Act provided by
representatives of the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Division on Civil Rights also released
its 2006 housing activities report at today’s
conference. Data included in the report
shows that, for a second consecutive year,
disability was the leading basis for housing
discrimination complaints filed with the
Division, followed respectively by race,
national origin, lawful-source-of-income
and familial status.
According to data included in the DCR report,
41.6 percent of housing discrimination cases
filed with DCR in 2006 alleged disability-related
discrimination, 32 percent alleged race-based
discrimination, and 18.5 percent alleged
discrimination based on national origin.
Lawful-source-of-income discrimination was
the basis of 17.4 percent of all complaints,
while 15.2 percent of complaints alleged
discrimination based on familial status.
Overall, the Division’s Housing Investigations
Unit received 171 new housing discrimination
cases in 2006 – the highest number
of new housing discrimination filings in
a single year since 1973.
DCR Director Frank Vespa-Papaleo said that,
although a record-setting year of housing
discrimination complaints to the Division
can be viewed as troubling, it can also
be viewed as encouraging because it suggests
greater awareness among housing seekers
and housing advocates of their rights under
the law, and where they can turn for assistance.
Vespa-Papaleo linked the increase in disability-related
complaints to the same blend of heightened
awareness and recognition of where to turn
for help.
The Director noted that housing-related
discrimination laws in New Jersey have been
systematically strengthened over time. For
example, he noted, the LAD was amended in
2004 to prohibit discrimination on the basis
of lawful-source-of-income. Under the amended
law, it is illegal for landlords to refuse
prospective tenants solely because they
intend to pay using federal Section 8 housing
assistance vouchers.
“We
have stronger laws and greater awareness
and advocacy on behalf of those seeking
to rent or purchase housing,” said
Vespa-Papaleo. “In addition, more
and more people are recognizing that the
Attorney General and the Division on Civil
Rights are committed to vigorously investigating
and prosecuting not only housing-related
cases, but all forms of alleged discrimination.”
Held in conjunction with National Fair Housing
Month, today’s conference was presented
in partnership with the New Jersey State
Bar Foundation and the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development. Other co-sponsors
included the Latino Leadership Alliance
of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Conference
of the NAACP, New Jersey Commission on Civil
Rights, New Jersey Department of the Public
Advocate, New Jersey Department of Community
Affairs, New Jersey Association of County
Disability Services and the New Jersey Apartment
Association.
Guest speakers for the conference included
Kenneth Zimmerman, Chief Counsel to Governor
Jon S. Corzine, Michael Shipp, an Assistant
Attorney General who serves as Counsel to
Attorney General Stuart Rabner and New Jersey
Public Advocate Ronald Chen.
Today’s event featured such accommodations
for persons with disabilities as translation
by certified American Sign Language interpreters,
assistive listening devices, and computer-assisted
real-time captioning (CART).
>>
2006
Fair Housing Report (93k pdf) plug-in
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