Center Fights Housing Bias

Center Fights Housing Bias

By Pam Kisch

This past January, Carmel Oliver tried to rent a two-bedroom apartment for herself, her baby daughter and her six-year-old son at Cobble Creek, a relatively low-rent Ypsilanti Township complex. The management refused to rent to her, citing a policy against children who aren't the same sex sharing a bedroom. Carmel Oliver sued Cobble Creek, accusing them of discrimination based upon familial status and sex.

Carmel Oliver's case, now pending in U.S. District Court, is one of three lawsuits initiated against landlords with help from the Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County (FHC). Open since February 1992, the FHC has received 121 complaints of housing discrimination, with over half of them alleging discrimination based on race.

Increasingly, however, the FHC is receiving calls from Washtenaw County residents, mainly women, who have been the victims of discrimination based on familial status (children). In 1992, the FHC received 11 complaints of discrimination against families with children. In 1993, the Center has already received nine such complaints.

When Oliver complained to the FHC an investigation was launched by sending a series of FHC "testers" to Cobble Creek. It was found that Cobble Creek maintained a policy barring children who are not the same sex from sharing a bedroom, as well as a rule prohibiting a child from sharing a bedroom with a parent.

It is only in the last four years that discrimination against families with children has been a violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act. In 1988, Amendments protecting children and people with disabilties were added to the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act which banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The Michigan Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act has barred bias against children since 1977.

Housing discrimination against families with children is sometimes hard to prove. Most people who complain to the FHC do not come wlth the kind of evidence needed to make a winning court case. The Center advises people who believe that they have been discriminated against to contact them immediately, and to avoid any premature confrontation with the landlord, which could close off legal options.

Housing discrimination against families with children is also sometimes hard to recognize. In general, the FHC advises people to beware of agents or owners who work to discourage you from renting or who make statements or comments that children aren't welcomed. The FHC also advises people to be suspicious when they hear the following from a rental agent or owner:

They do not rent to children.

They keep children in certain areas or floors of a complex.

That a child can't share a bedroom with an adult.

That a brother and sister can't share a bedroom.

That there is a limit to the number of children per unit.

That families with children must pay a higher rent or security deposit.

In addition to providing investigative services when warranted, the FHC also offers advice, advocacy, and conciliation and attorney referrals. The FHC offers a number of options for you if you feel you have been a victim of discrimination which may include a conciliation agreement with an agent or owner, a complaint filed with the city, state, or federal office, or litigation in state or federal court.

The Center, partly funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, is looking for individual members. If you have been discriminated against, or want more Information, call the Fair Housing Center at 994-3426.

Pam Kisch is Director of the Washtenaw County Fair Housing Center.