Housing discrimination (United States)
Encyclopedia
Housing discrimination is when an individual or family is treated unequally when trying to buy, rent, lease, sell or finance a home based on certain characteristics, such as race, class, sexuality
, religion
, national origin
, and familial status. This type of discrimination can lead to housing and spatial inequality
and racial segregation
which, in turn, can exacerbate wealth disparities between certain groups. In the United States
, housing discrimination began after the abolition of slavery
as part of a federally sponsored law, but has since been made illegal; however, studies show that housing discrimination still exists.
were introduced. These laws led to the discrimination of minorities, especially African Americans
. Fifteen state courts obeyed ordinances that enforced the denial of housing to African American and other minority groups in white-zoned areas. These ordinances were then made illegal in the 1917 Supreme Court
case, Buchanan v. Warley
. Following this decision, however, nineteen states legally supported “covenants”, or agreements, between property owners to not rent or sell any homes to minorities. Although the covenants, too, were made illegal in 1948, they were still allowed to be present in private deeds. It was not until the Civil Rights Act of 1968
, otherwise known as the Fair Housing Act, that the federal government made its first concrete steps to deem all types of housing discrimination unconstitutional. The act explicitly prohibits housing discrimination practices common at the time, including filtering information about a home’s availability, racial steering
, blockbusting
, and redlining
.
The federal government has passed other initiatives in addition to the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
of 1974 and Community Reinvestment Act
of 1977 helped with discrimination in mortgage lending and lenders' problems with credit needs. The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 was passed to give the federal government the power to enforce the original Fair Housing Act to correct past problems with enforcement. The amendment established a system of administrative law judges to hear cases brought to them by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
and to levy fines. Because of the relationship between housing discrimination cases and private agencies, the federal government passed the two initiatives. The Fair Housing Assistance Program of 1984 was passed to assist public agencies with processing complaints, and the Fair Housing Initiatives program of 1986 supported private and public fair housing agencies in their activities, such as auditing. Between 1990 and 2001 these two programs have resulted in over one thousand housing discrimination lawsuits and over $155 million in financial recovery.
The United States Census
has shown that minorities living in concentrated, high-poverty areas had actually increased following the passage of the Fair Housing Act from 1970 to 1990. African-Americans residing in these areas rose from 16 percent to 24 percent, and Hispanics living in these areas have increased from 10 percent to 15 percent. While this does not necessarily point to evidence of housing discrimination, it does mirror the phenomenon of white flight—the mass exodus during the 1970s and '80s of European-Americans from cities to the suburbs that left only one-fourth of the Anglo population still living in metropolitan areas. American sociologist Douglas Massey
, in his essay, "The New Geography of Inequality in Urban America", argues that this new racial geography in the United States has laid the foundation for housing discrimination to occur in order to keep up the status quo.
Most exclusionary discrimination cases entail forms of outright exclusion, such as a direct refusal to rent to a prospective tenant, direct refusal to sell or discuss the sale of a property, or the false representation of homes or apartments available for sale or rent. Although this outright exclusion is often made up of subtle actions, like lying about standards for rental qualification to disqualify certain individuals, it sometimes also comes with overt verbal abuse and slurs.
Other exclusionary cases entail discriminatory terms and conditions pertaining to the sale or rental of an apartment or home with the purpose of denying access. These forms include unfair financing or loan qualifications or terms, steering or restricting the choices of people seeking homes, differential criteria to qualify to rent a home, and refusing to provide insurance, which would prevent the individual or family from acquiring a home. Consumer advocate groups conducted studies and found that many minority borrowers who were eligible for affordable, traditional loans were often steered toward incredibly high-priced subprime loans that they would never be able to repay.
A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that "the greatest share of discrimination for Hispanic and African American home seekers can still be attributed to being told units are unavailable when they are available to non-Hispanic whites and being shown and told about less units than a comparable non-minority."
Most nonexclusionary discrimination cases involve applying discriminatory terms and conditions within the victim's current residential setting. The majority of these cases involve terms, conditions, and privileges relating to a current rental arrangement. These cases are often seen as unfairly raising the rent of a select group or allowing certain tenants privileges, like using a facility after hours or being lenient on pet policies. Many nonexclusionary discrimination cases involve the failure to provide equal access to services and facilities, such as purposely delaying or completely forgoing fixing a broken pipe. More terms and conditions cases involve discriminatory financing, loans, and appraisals of the individual or family's property, which is when the discriminatory actor takes advantage of the victim financially.
Other forms of nonexclusionary discrimination include the use of harassment, intimidation, and coercion toward victims. This includes racial slurs and threats of violence, both of which create an uneasy environment in which the victims live. These forms can cause excessive anxiety and stress for the individual or family affected. If an individual holding a position of a authority, such as the landlord, is responsible for the nonexclusionary discrimination, the victim is left with a feeling of powerlessness and lack of ability to get help.
, argues that practices like these in the housing market—as evidenced by countless U.S. Census of Population reports—have led to segregation, and can be interpreted as forms of modern-day housing discrimination. One important example cited is of realtors opting to place public housing
in crowded inner city minority neighborhoods instead of those with an Anglo majority due to “public and political pressure.” Other housing phenomena that Yinger argues encourage segregation are those of sorting
and bidding
in which bidders perceived to be higher-class win out on cheaper per-square-foot, larger homes farther away from inner cities. The study done by the U.S. Housing Scholars adds that school zoning has also been named a culprit for housing segregation, and may be used as a critical venue for housing discrimination. It also cites the Internet as yet another means for the perpetuation of housing discrimination that is, as of now, unrestricted by the provisions of the Fair Housing Act. While the Fair Housing Act strictly prohibits any sellers from using language that explicitly names a preference for a certain group, third-party sellers that use sites like Craigslist.com and Roommates.com to find buyers or renters are granted immunity from the FHA, and the websites are not held liable. This was cemented by the 2004 court case, Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC
, in which Roommates.com was not held liable for users with advertisements such as, ‘looking for White Christian Male,’ since the website did not have the resources to monitor and censor such usage.
, lesbian
, or transgender
. Since housing discrimination based on sexual orientation was not explicitly cited in the Fair Housing Act, as of now, it is banned only in 17 states. In all states, same-sex couples are frequently unable to apply to public housing as a family unit, thus decreasing their chances at being accepted into the program. Although the HUD is currently working on the first nation-wide study of LGBT housing discrimination, one New York Times article cites a Jacksonville survey in which one in 10 homosexual couples reported overt unequal treatment by landlords. In a more comprehensive study done by the Fair Housing Commission of Michigan, statistics showed that out of 120 paired-tests, almost 30% of same-sex couples were given higher rental rates and less encouragement to rent.
in the U.S. lived in central city areas. The percentage of African American
s living in inner cities was 56.9 percent, and the percentage of inner city Hispanics
was 51.5 percent. Asian American
s living in central cities totaled 46.3 percent. Furthermore, according to a more recent U.S. Census Bureau study, the average white person living in a metropolitan area lives in a neighborhood that is 80 percent Anglo and seven percent Black, while the average African American lives in a neighborhood that is 33 percent white and more than 51 percent black. As of 2000, 75 percent of all African Americans live in highly segregated communities, making them the most segregated group in the nation. It can be argued that these statistics do not point to evidence of housing discrimination, but rather to segregation based on historical reasons which have made minorities more economically deprived, and thus prone to living in more poverty-stricken inner city areas. However, a 2008 study published by the U.S. Housing Scholars cites the fact that “[d]isparities between neighborhoods for blacks and Hispanics with incomes above $60,000 are almost as large as the overall disparities, and they increased more substantially in the [1990s].”
. People who suffer from housing discrimination often live in lower-quality housing. Housing inequalities often reflect the unequal distribution of income. Poor areas suffer from educational disparities, and a poor education translates into earnings disparities. Those who earn less can only afford lower-quality housing. Segregation, health risks, and wealth disparities all relate to poverty.
can lead to lowered intelligence in children. Asthma is also a problem that comes with lower-quality housing, since more air pollution, dust, mold, and mildew are more likely to occur. There is evidence that African Americans living in established black communities faced a higher mortality rate than those living in white or integrated areas. Housing inequality, often resulting alongside residential segregation,
and Jessica Kenty-Drane state that wealth disparities are also a result of housing discrimination, as housing discrimination acts as a barrier to homeownership. Homeowners may learn management and home repair skills, and the children of homeowners are less likely to drop out of high school or to have children as teenagers. Additionally, credit constraints limit homeownership for people with low income. Housing discrimination that keeps families from affordable loans and nicer areas with increasing property values keep victims from accumulating wealth. Residential segregation also leads to wealth disparities. Children often inherit wealth from their parents, and if parents were forced into poor-quality housing because of housing discrimination, then there is less wealth to give. Housing discrimination in metropolitan areas impede African American mobility into racially mixed or whiter neighborhoods.
There have been a number of solutions proposed to finally end the threat of housing discrimination and eliminate any legal loopholes in which it may operate. So far fair housing enforcement of federal legislation concerning housing discrimination has faced challenges. The main burden of enforcement falls on federal financial regulatory institutions, like the Federal Reserve Board, and the HUD.The enforcement provisions of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were limited, and even though the act was amended in 1988, there are still problems with enforcement since housing discrimination often happens one-on-one and is not very visible, even in audits. The Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 did make a system of administrative law judges to hear housing discrimination cases to help against the illegal actions. Other examples of federal legislation may include increased federal legislation enforcement, scattered-site housing, or state and local enforcement on a more concentrated level. Better methods of enforcement in addition to new policies are proposed to be a help. In 2010 the Justice Department under President Barack Obama made a new fair-lending unit.
Inclusionary remedies to truly enforce integration
are also proposed. Inclusionary housing refers to making sure that areas are integrated, and inclusionary housing increases chances for minorities to gain and sustain employment. Recently Montgomery County, Md., passed an ordinance to require new housing developments to consist of a percentage of moderately priced dwelling units, guaranteeing more affordable better housing for 10 years.
Other proposed solutions include subsidies, such as direct subsidies, project-based subsidies, household-based subsidies, and tax reductions. As of 2001, only 15.7 percent of poor households received federal housing subsidies, meaning a majority of people in poor households did not receive that help. Household-based subsidies have been a significant source of new housing assistance as of late. HUD has handed out housing certificates to allow participants of Section 8 to move into higher-quality housing units.
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, national origin
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
, and familial status. This type of discrimination can lead to housing and spatial inequality
Housing inequality
Housing inequality refers to the differences in the quality of housing that exist within a given society. It has implications for the options available to an individual or family and tends to focus on the negative aspects of inequality...
and racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
which, in turn, can exacerbate wealth disparities between certain groups. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, housing discrimination began after the abolition of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
as part of a federally sponsored law, but has since been made illegal; however, studies show that housing discrimination still exists.
History
After the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Jim Crow lawsJim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
were introduced. These laws led to the discrimination of minorities, especially African Americans
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
. Fifteen state courts obeyed ordinances that enforced the denial of housing to African American and other minority groups in white-zoned areas. These ordinances were then made illegal in the 1917 Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case, Buchanan v. Warley
Buchanan v. Warley
Buchanan v. Warley, 245 U.S. 60 was a unanimous United States Supreme Court decision addressing civil government instituted racial segregation in residential areas. The Court held that a Louisville, Kentucky, city ordinance prohibiting the sale of real property to African Americans violated the...
. Following this decision, however, nineteen states legally supported “covenants”, or agreements, between property owners to not rent or sell any homes to minorities. Although the covenants, too, were made illegal in 1948, they were still allowed to be present in private deeds. It was not until the Civil Rights Act of 1968
Civil Rights Act of 1968
On April 11, 1968 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 is commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, or as CRA '68, and was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964...
, otherwise known as the Fair Housing Act, that the federal government made its first concrete steps to deem all types of housing discrimination unconstitutional. The act explicitly prohibits housing discrimination practices common at the time, including filtering information about a home’s availability, racial steering
Racial steering
Racial steering refers to the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race...
, blockbusting
Blockbusting
Blockbusting is a business practice of U.S. real estate agents and building developers meant to encourage white property owners to sell their houses at a loss, by implying that racial, ethnic, or religious minorities — Blacks, Hispanics, Jews et al. — were moving into their previously racially...
, and redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
.
The federal government has passed other initiatives in addition to the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act is a United States law , enacted in 1974, that makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age ; to the...
of 1974 and Community Reinvestment Act
Community Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act is a United States federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods...
of 1977 helped with discrimination in mortgage lending and lenders' problems with credit needs. The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 was passed to give the federal government the power to enforce the original Fair Housing Act to correct past problems with enforcement. The amendment established a system of administrative law judges to hear cases brought to them by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...
and to levy fines. Because of the relationship between housing discrimination cases and private agencies, the federal government passed the two initiatives. The Fair Housing Assistance Program of 1984 was passed to assist public agencies with processing complaints, and the Fair Housing Initiatives program of 1986 supported private and public fair housing agencies in their activities, such as auditing. Between 1990 and 2001 these two programs have resulted in over one thousand housing discrimination lawsuits and over $155 million in financial recovery.
The United States Census
United States Census
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
has shown that minorities living in concentrated, high-poverty areas had actually increased following the passage of the Fair Housing Act from 1970 to 1990. African-Americans residing in these areas rose from 16 percent to 24 percent, and Hispanics living in these areas have increased from 10 percent to 15 percent. While this does not necessarily point to evidence of housing discrimination, it does mirror the phenomenon of white flight—the mass exodus during the 1970s and '80s of European-Americans from cities to the suburbs that left only one-fourth of the Anglo population still living in metropolitan areas. American sociologist Douglas Massey
Douglas Massey
Douglas S. Massey is an American sociologist. Massey is currently a professor of Sociology at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and is an adjunct professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania...
, in his essay, "The New Geography of Inequality in Urban America", argues that this new racial geography in the United States has laid the foundation for housing discrimination to occur in order to keep up the status quo.
Types
Sociologists Vincent J. Roscigno, Diana L. Karafin, and Griff Tester have determined that the variety of actions that constitute housing discrimination can be classified as either exclusionary or nonexclusionary.Exclusionary
Exclusionary discrimination practices refer to "actions and practices that exclude an individual or family from obtaining the housing of their choosing." These forms of housing discrimination occur at various stages of the rental or sales process. The majority of discriminatory actors in exclusionary discrimination are landlords and landowners, as they have the positional power and direct access to the individual or family and the housing being sought. Other discriminatory actors or institutions responsible for exclusion include real estate, insurance, and banking and lending agents and institutions.Most exclusionary discrimination cases entail forms of outright exclusion, such as a direct refusal to rent to a prospective tenant, direct refusal to sell or discuss the sale of a property, or the false representation of homes or apartments available for sale or rent. Although this outright exclusion is often made up of subtle actions, like lying about standards for rental qualification to disqualify certain individuals, it sometimes also comes with overt verbal abuse and slurs.
Other exclusionary cases entail discriminatory terms and conditions pertaining to the sale or rental of an apartment or home with the purpose of denying access. These forms include unfair financing or loan qualifications or terms, steering or restricting the choices of people seeking homes, differential criteria to qualify to rent a home, and refusing to provide insurance, which would prevent the individual or family from acquiring a home. Consumer advocate groups conducted studies and found that many minority borrowers who were eligible for affordable, traditional loans were often steered toward incredibly high-priced subprime loans that they would never be able to repay.
A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found that "the greatest share of discrimination for Hispanic and African American home seekers can still be attributed to being told units are unavailable when they are available to non-Hispanic whites and being shown and told about less units than a comparable non-minority."
Nonexclusionary
Nonexclusionary discrimination practices refer to "actions and practices that occur within an already established housing arrangement, most often entailing racial harassment, differential treatment of tenants, or disparate application of contractual terms and conditions of residency." Individuals and families already housed experience ongoing intimidation, differential treatment, and harassment, and nonexclusionary discrimination often results in distress for victims since the victim is often legally bound to the home and usually has direct contact with the perpetrator on a regular basis. Landlords and owners are still responsible for the majority of this type of housing discrimination, but neighbors and banking and lending institutions participate more. For instance, even without institutionalized exclusionary power, residential neighbors can harass and intimidate tenants.Most nonexclusionary discrimination cases involve applying discriminatory terms and conditions within the victim's current residential setting. The majority of these cases involve terms, conditions, and privileges relating to a current rental arrangement. These cases are often seen as unfairly raising the rent of a select group or allowing certain tenants privileges, like using a facility after hours or being lenient on pet policies. Many nonexclusionary discrimination cases involve the failure to provide equal access to services and facilities, such as purposely delaying or completely forgoing fixing a broken pipe. More terms and conditions cases involve discriminatory financing, loans, and appraisals of the individual or family's property, which is when the discriminatory actor takes advantage of the victim financially.
Other forms of nonexclusionary discrimination include the use of harassment, intimidation, and coercion toward victims. This includes racial slurs and threats of violence, both of which create an uneasy environment in which the victims live. These forms can cause excessive anxiety and stress for the individual or family affected. If an individual holding a position of a authority, such as the landlord, is responsible for the nonexclusionary discrimination, the victim is left with a feeling of powerlessness and lack of ability to get help.
Housing discrimination practices of today
Famed sociologist and expert in the field of housing discrimination studies, John YingerJohn Milton Yinger
John Milton Yinger was an American sociologist who was president of the American Sociological Association 1976-1977. Yinger received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1942, and was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Oberlin College.-Biography :Yinger was born in Quincy,...
, argues that practices like these in the housing market—as evidenced by countless U.S. Census of Population reports—have led to segregation, and can be interpreted as forms of modern-day housing discrimination. One important example cited is of realtors opting to place public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
in crowded inner city minority neighborhoods instead of those with an Anglo majority due to “public and political pressure.” Other housing phenomena that Yinger argues encourage segregation are those of sorting
Sorting
Sorting is any process of arranging items in some sequence and/or in different sets, and accordingly, it has two common, yet distinct meanings:# ordering: arranging items of the same kind, class, nature, etc...
and bidding
Bidding
Bidding is an offer of setting a price one is willing to pay for something. A price offer is called a bid. The term may be used in context of auctions, stock exchange, card games, or real estate transactions....
in which bidders perceived to be higher-class win out on cheaper per-square-foot, larger homes farther away from inner cities. The study done by the U.S. Housing Scholars adds that school zoning has also been named a culprit for housing segregation, and may be used as a critical venue for housing discrimination. It also cites the Internet as yet another means for the perpetuation of housing discrimination that is, as of now, unrestricted by the provisions of the Fair Housing Act. While the Fair Housing Act strictly prohibits any sellers from using language that explicitly names a preference for a certain group, third-party sellers that use sites like Craigslist.com and Roommates.com to find buyers or renters are granted immunity from the FHA, and the websites are not held liable. This was cemented by the 2004 court case, Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC
Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC
Fair Housing Council of San Fernando Valley v. Roommates.com, LLC is a case in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act did not apply to an interactive online operator whose questionnaire...
, in which Roommates.com was not held liable for users with advertisements such as, ‘looking for White Christian Male,’ since the website did not have the resources to monitor and censor such usage.
LGBT housing discrimination
While the still-present threat of housing discrimination focuses more on race, recent studies have shown a growing trend toward discrimination in the housing market against those who identify themselves as gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, or transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
. Since housing discrimination based on sexual orientation was not explicitly cited in the Fair Housing Act, as of now, it is banned only in 17 states. In all states, same-sex couples are frequently unable to apply to public housing as a family unit, thus decreasing their chances at being accepted into the program. Although the HUD is currently working on the first nation-wide study of LGBT housing discrimination, one New York Times article cites a Jacksonville survey in which one in 10 homosexual couples reported overt unequal treatment by landlords. In a more comprehensive study done by the Fair Housing Commission of Michigan, statistics showed that out of 120 paired-tests, almost 30% of same-sex couples were given higher rental rates and less encouragement to rent.
Minority housing discrimination
Minoritiess are impacted the most by housing discrimination. Exclusionary discrimination against African Americans most often occurs in rental markets and sales markets. Families are vulnerable to exclusion, but African American women are especially overrepresented as victims, especially single African American mothers. This discriminatory exclusion is because of stereotypes concerning race and single women. The presence of children in a minority family at times is what warrants the discrimination. African Americans are also the victims in most nonexclusionary cases, with African American women still overrepresented. Nonexclusionary forms of discrimination such as racial slurs and intimidation affect many minority victims. Some minorities suffer the purposeful neglect of service needs, such as a landlord fixing a white tenant's bathtub quickly but delaying fixing the bathtub of the minority tenant. Data obtained by Ohio Civil Rights Commission studied housing discrimination cases between 1988 and 2003, and of the 2,176 cases filed, 1,741 were filed by African Americans. A study by HUD released in 2005 found that more and more Hispanics are facing discrimination in their housing searches. Some cases brought to the Department of Justice show that municipalities and other local government entities violated the Fair Housing Act of 1968 when they denied African Americans housing, permits, and zoning changes, or steered them toward neighborhoods with a predominantly minority population.Demographics
According to the U.S. Census of Population in 1990, 25.3 percent of all Anglo-AmericansNon-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic Whites or White, Not Hispanic or Latino are people in the United States, as defined by the Census Bureau, who are of the White race and are not of Hispanic or Latino origin/ethnicity. Hence the designation is exclusive in the sense that it defines who is not included as opposed to who is...
in the U.S. lived in central city areas. The percentage of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s living in inner cities was 56.9 percent, and the percentage of inner city Hispanics
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
was 51.5 percent. Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
s living in central cities totaled 46.3 percent. Furthermore, according to a more recent U.S. Census Bureau study, the average white person living in a metropolitan area lives in a neighborhood that is 80 percent Anglo and seven percent Black, while the average African American lives in a neighborhood that is 33 percent white and more than 51 percent black. As of 2000, 75 percent of all African Americans live in highly segregated communities, making them the most segregated group in the nation. It can be argued that these statistics do not point to evidence of housing discrimination, but rather to segregation based on historical reasons which have made minorities more economically deprived, and thus prone to living in more poverty-stricken inner city areas. However, a 2008 study published by the U.S. Housing Scholars cites the fact that “[d]isparities between neighborhoods for blacks and Hispanics with incomes above $60,000 are almost as large as the overall disparities, and they increased more substantially in the [1990s].”
HUD Study
In a comprehensive study by the HUD in 2000, paired-tests (in which two applicants of different races but the same economic status and credit scores apply to rent or buy a house) were used to determine whether or not statistics about segregation truly pointed to housing discrimination. This study reported that although adverse treatment of minorities has decreased over time, roughly 25 percent of white applicants were still favored above those who were African-American or Hispanic. About 17 percent of African American applicants and 20 percent of Hispanic applicants were subjected to adverse treatment, including receiving less information about a home or being shown fewer, lower-quality units.Effects of Housing Discrimination
John Yinger, a sociologist who has studied housing discrimination, argues that it is something perhaps most concretely evidenced by its effects: concentrated povertyPoverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
. People who suffer from housing discrimination often live in lower-quality housing. Housing inequalities often reflect the unequal distribution of income. Poor areas suffer from educational disparities, and a poor education translates into earnings disparities. Those who earn less can only afford lower-quality housing. Segregation, health risks, and wealth disparities all relate to poverty.
Residential segregation
Perhaps the most unmistakable consequence of housing discrimination is residential segregation. Housing discrimination helps reinforce residential segregation through mortgage discrimination, redlining, and predatory lending practices. Racial avoidance and threats of violence also result in racial segregation. Housing discrimination can also impact minority preferences over time, as individuals or families experiencing harassment and intimidation at their home on a daily basis may transition to more acceptable neighborhoods.Health
Health risks are a consequence of housing discrimination. Those suffering housing discrimination and people living below the poverty threshold often rent small or low-quality housing. Lead paint leftover from past years and animal pests, such as rats, can be found in older housing, resulting in serious health consequences. LeadLead poisoning
Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...
can lead to lowered intelligence in children. Asthma is also a problem that comes with lower-quality housing, since more air pollution, dust, mold, and mildew are more likely to occur. There is evidence that African Americans living in established black communities faced a higher mortality rate than those living in white or integrated areas. Housing inequality, often resulting alongside residential segregation,
Neighborhood
Neighborhood effects are also seen due to housing discrimination and residential segregation. The housing inequality that comes with living in lower-quality housing means that neighborhood amenities are lacking. Poorer areas offer worse education, leading to educational and employment disadvantages and a higher school dropout rate. Schools are often segregated due to the effects of housing discrimination and residential segregation, in turn hindering students' educational performance. A study conducted by the Century Foundation in Montgomery County, Md., showed that students of low income enrolled in affluent schools did better than students in higher-poverty schools. Criminal activity, including gang life and drug abuse, is also more prevalent in poorer areas. The rate of teenage child bearing also increases in these areas.Wealth disparities
Sociologists Thomas ShapiroThomas Shapiro
Thomas M. Shapiro is a professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Brandeis University and is the author The Hidden Cost of Being African American and the co-author of Black Wealth/White Wealth. Shapiro's current professional titles include the Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy and the...
and Jessica Kenty-Drane state that wealth disparities are also a result of housing discrimination, as housing discrimination acts as a barrier to homeownership. Homeowners may learn management and home repair skills, and the children of homeowners are less likely to drop out of high school or to have children as teenagers. Additionally, credit constraints limit homeownership for people with low income. Housing discrimination that keeps families from affordable loans and nicer areas with increasing property values keep victims from accumulating wealth. Residential segregation also leads to wealth disparities. Children often inherit wealth from their parents, and if parents were forced into poor-quality housing because of housing discrimination, then there is less wealth to give. Housing discrimination in metropolitan areas impede African American mobility into racially mixed or whiter neighborhoods.
Possible solutions
Sociologist Douglas Massey argues that housing discrimination is a moving target. As federal legislation concerning anti-housing discrimination policies become more effective, new forms of housing discrimination have emerged to perpetuate residential segregation, and in turn, poverty.There have been a number of solutions proposed to finally end the threat of housing discrimination and eliminate any legal loopholes in which it may operate. So far fair housing enforcement of federal legislation concerning housing discrimination has faced challenges. The main burden of enforcement falls on federal financial regulatory institutions, like the Federal Reserve Board, and the HUD.The enforcement provisions of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were limited, and even though the act was amended in 1988, there are still problems with enforcement since housing discrimination often happens one-on-one and is not very visible, even in audits. The Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 did make a system of administrative law judges to hear housing discrimination cases to help against the illegal actions. Other examples of federal legislation may include increased federal legislation enforcement, scattered-site housing, or state and local enforcement on a more concentrated level. Better methods of enforcement in addition to new policies are proposed to be a help. In 2010 the Justice Department under President Barack Obama made a new fair-lending unit.
Inclusionary remedies to truly enforce integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
are also proposed. Inclusionary housing refers to making sure that areas are integrated, and inclusionary housing increases chances for minorities to gain and sustain employment. Recently Montgomery County, Md., passed an ordinance to require new housing developments to consist of a percentage of moderately priced dwelling units, guaranteeing more affordable better housing for 10 years.
Other proposed solutions include subsidies, such as direct subsidies, project-based subsidies, household-based subsidies, and tax reductions. As of 2001, only 15.7 percent of poor households received federal housing subsidies, meaning a majority of people in poor households did not receive that help. Household-based subsidies have been a significant source of new housing assistance as of late. HUD has handed out housing certificates to allow participants of Section 8 to move into higher-quality housing units.
See also
- Fair housingFair housingIn the United States, the fair housing policies date largely from the 1960s. Originally, the terms fair housing and open housing came from a political movement of the time to outlaw discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and a broad range of other housing-related transactions, such as...
- Housing inequalityHousing inequalityHousing inequality refers to the differences in the quality of housing that exist within a given society. It has implications for the options available to an individual or family and tends to focus on the negative aspects of inequality...
- RedliningRedliningRedlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
- Subsidized housing
- United States Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentUnited States Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentThe United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...