News

Fair Housing Rights for Renters

July 25, 2024 | Categories: Fair Housing Law, Publications, Rental | Tags: Fair Housing Act, Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, renter

As a renter, the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) provides you protection, equal opportunity, and the right to discrimination-free housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, familial status, sex, and disability. In Michigan, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) gives you additional housing protections for age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity […]

REALTORS Show Support for Fair Housing Goals

April 12, 2021 | Categories: About the FHC | Tags: Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, fair housing, Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan, fair housing month, Real Estate, Realtor, Realtors

This month the nation celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. This landmark civil rights legislation was the result of years of individual and collective struggle against discrimination in sales, rental, financing and other housing-related transactions. The Act now protects the buyer or renter of a dwelling from discrimination based on race, color, […]

HUD: We Will Now Fully Enforce FHA to Prohibit LGBT Discrimination

February 18, 2021 | Categories: About the FHC | Tags: Fair Housing Act, gender identity, HUD, LGBT, lgbtq, sexual orientation, Transgender

Sexual orientation and gender identity are now officially included in “sex” discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. While our office has been acting under this assumption for decades, we both applaud and are hopeful for what this official declaration means for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming community members. Jeanine M. Worden, Acting […]

Defend Civil Rights

September 6, 2019 | Categories: About FHC | Tags: civil rights, Defend Civil Rights, Disparate Impact, Disparate Impact Claim, Fair Housing Act, HUD, NFHA

A vital protection against housing segregation and discrimination is under attack. The current administration is attempting to rollback protections against housing discrimination by gutting a part of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). At stake is a protection under the FHA called “disparate impact.” This protection says that lenders, landlords, and other housing professionals should choose policies that […]

Book teaches Kids about Housing Discrimination

May 4, 2018 | Categories: About FHC, Press Release | Tags: Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, discrimination, Education, Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan, FHAct50

Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan PO Box 7825, Ann Arbor, MI 48107 (877) 979-FAIR www.fhcmichigan.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2018 For more information, contact: Pam Kisch, Executive Director, (877) 979-3247 Book teaches Kids about Housing Discrimination The Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan (FHC) was awarded a grant by […]

FHC Contributes to HUD’s First LGBTQ Housing Discrimination Study

June 7, 2017 | Categories: About the FHC, Gender Identity, LGBTQ, News, Publications, Sexual Orientation | Tags: Fair Housing Act, gender identity, HUD, LGBT, lgbtq, sexual orientation, Transgender, Urban Institute

The groundbreaking work of the Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan was acknowledged in a new study titled “Paired-Testing Pilot Study of Housing Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples and Transgender Individuals.” The HUD-funded Urban Institute study tested for discrimination against same-sex and transgender individuals and advanced recommendations for future research and fair housing practitioners. […]

New Federal Fair Housing Complaint Filed Against Ann Arbor Property

April 13, 2017 | Categories: About FHC, Media, News | Tags: Ann Arbor, civil rights, disability, fair housing, Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan, Ramp, reasonable modification, Steve Tomkowiak

Management delays ramp installation, forces woman to crawl into home. The Fair Housing Center has initiated a fair housing discrimination lawsuit based on disability against Group Five Management Company and TG Properties LLC, the owners of Randolph Court Apartments in Ann Arbor. Read the full press release here. Since age 4, Sarah Tankson has suffered […]

Next Week’s Event Honors Rental Agent Who Exposed Illegal Discrimination

March 15, 2017 | Categories: About FHC, Events | Tags: Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan, FHBreakfast2017, FHC Board of Directors, sara pratt

You are invited to attend the Fair Housing Center’s upcoming Breakfast with guest speaker Sara Pratt. Wednesday, March 22nd, 8:30 – 10:30AM at Weber’s Inn, Ann Arbor. We are pleased to announce that rental agent Chelsae Lakin will receive the Fair Housing Center Board of Directors’ Award for her willingness to expose illegal housing discrimination. […]

FHC and DOJ Settle Case Against Seven Michigan Properties for $45,000

October 10, 2016 | Categories: About FHC, News, Press Release | Tags: Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan, familial status, Michigan, Sudi Hopper, U.S. Department of Justice

“As long as you don’t have any kids or animals.” This is what our testers were told when they called three different Lansing-area properties. Testers were asked repeatedly to confirm that they did not have children before the agent offered to show them an available apartment. When a tester stated that they had a child, the […]

Housing Resources for Veterans

November 11, 2015 | Categories: About FHC | Tags: disability, Disability Rights, Fair Housing Act, military, veteran

Under the Fair Housing Act, it’s illegal to deny housing or discriminate against someone based on his or her disability, sex, race, color, national origin, familial status, or religion. Although federal fair housing law does not prohibit discrimination solely based on a veteran’s status, some veterans face discrimination because of a physical or mental/emotional disability.