Enforcement

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The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits housing discrimination based on protected characteristics. Despite these protections, discrimination and unfair housing practices continue to affect underserved communities.

Housing Equity raises awareness of fair housing laws, consumer rights, and available legal protections, particularly for families facing discrimination and predatory lending, including abusive Contract for Deed arrangements.

We encourage affected individuals to report suspected violations to appropriate enforcement authorities, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and other relevant agencies.

Our role is to educate, advocate, and connect communities with appropriate resources, while government agencies and authorized legal institutions handle formal investigations and enforcement.

Enforcement Efforts

In 1968, the Fair Housing Act was passed into law making housing discrimination unlawful throughout the nation. Despite this legal protection and decades of work by Housing Equity and its members to educate and train persons and organizations, reinvest in communities, and advocate for policies that extend equity and equality in housing nationwide, housing discrimination persists.

Housing Equity’s enforcement efforts support its mission by engaging in activities to document and address unlawful housing discrimination throughout the country:

Intake and referrals: Housing Equity receives allegations of discrimination and connects persons with local fair housing organizations and other resources for investigation and advocacy services. Housing Equity may also provide investigation and advocacy services. To report allegations, click here.
Investigations: When Housing Equity has reason to believe fair housing laws are being violated, it conducts investigations to assess the situation. Investigations are often conducted in collaboration with local fair housing centers and may cover multiple states.
Counteraction: In instances where Housing Equity identifies discrimination, Housing Equity diverts its resources to address documented discrimination through, for example, re-training, re-education campaigns, and outreach activities.
Elimination and prevention: Housing Equity leverages fair housing laws to eliminate discrimination it has documented, prevent future discrimination, and provide relief to individuals and communities harmed by discrimination.
Community reinvestment: Housing Equity seeks to reinvest in communities harmed by discrimination, and to make neighborhoods and persons whole. Read about Housing Equity’s inclusive communities program here.
Amicus briefs: Housing Equity engages in amicus briefs to support the development of strong fair housing jurisprudence.

To learn more about a few of Housing Equity’s recent enforcement efforts, click on the links below.

Housing Equity and Redfin Agree to Settlement Which Greatly Expands Access to Real Estate Services in Communities of Color

Housing Equity announced a settlement agreement to resolve a fair housing lawsuit that will expand housing opportunities for consumers in communities of color in major cities throughout the United States. One of the nation’s largest real estate services companies, Redfin will change its minimum housing price policy, alter other practices, and pay $4 million to settle the suit brought against it by Housing Equity and nine other fair housing organizations.