Equal opportunity housing
In
November 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order, entitled
"Equal Opportunity in Housing," prohibiting discrimination in housing
that is owned, operated or assisted by the federal government.
The
order required federal agencies to take action to prevent
discrimination based upon race, color, creed or national origin.
Although the executive order was the first federal anti-discrimination
initiative of the 20th century, it had limited impact on the housing
market.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
At
the end of the Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment was enacted to
abolish slavery and to give Congress authority to enact appropriate
legislation to enforce the abolishment of slavery.
In
1866, the reconstruction Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866,
which guaranteed property rights to all citizens regardless of race.
The Act specifically provided that all citizens shall have the same
rights as white citizens to inherit, purchase, and sell real and
personal property.
Governmental
discrimination was also prohibited by the Fourteenth Amendment (enacted
in 1868) and the Fifth Amendment's due process clause that applies to
the federal government.
But soon thereafter, the nation's commitment to civil rights deteriorated.
In retrospect, the 1866 Civil Rights Act guarantee of equal rights to all races was, unfortunately, an empty promise.
For
over a century, the courts prohibited racial discrimination only with
regard to "state" (governmental) discrimination, such as racial zoning
or the court enforcement of racially-restrictive covenants governing
real property; therefore, the 1866 Act was essentially ineffective in
combating private discrimination.
The
first major setback to the legal rights of African-Americans came in
the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Civil Rights Case (1883).
In
that case, the Court held that the equal protection clause of the U.S.
Constitution (i.e., the 14th Amendment) did not prohibit private acts
of discrimination, rather it merely prohibited discrimination that was
the product of government action.
Title VI to the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Two
years later, Congress enacted Title VI to the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
which prohibited discrimination in programs receiving federal financial
assistance.
Once again, this Act had little effect since it did not prohibit discrimination in the private housing market.
The real change in fair housing came in 1968, a year that is considered the birth of modern fair housing.
In addition to the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., two historic events occurred that year that forever changed the housing market.
In 1974, the Fair Housing Act was expanded to include prohibition of gender discrimination, and Section 8 programs were created.
In the same year, Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibited credit discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status or age.
In the 1970s, various federal legislations were enacted to prohibit discrimination in federal programs, and to include additional protected classes.
Congress enacted Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, prohibiting discrimination against handicapped persons in all federally-assisted programs, including housing.
Later, Congress enacted the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of age in programs receiving federal financial assistance.
In 1980, President Carter expanded Kennedy's executive order to include gender-based discrimination, and to grant HUD additional authority to issue regulations to further fair housing in federal programs.
After the enactment of the Fair Housing Act, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered several important decisions favorable to attacking housing discrimination.
In 1972, the Court held in Trafficante v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. that the Fair
Housing Act should be broadly construed, and that HUD's interpretation of the Act should
be given great weight.
Of tremendous practical importance, the Court also upheld the right of housing organizations and other residents to sue persons or municipalities that violated the Fair Housing Act.
In 1982, the Court rendered an important decision entitled Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, which permitted housing organizations and "testers" to sue in racial steering cases. These court cases enable private and public organizations to investigate fair housing violations and to file actions for civil penalties and damages.
On September 13, 1988, former President Ronald Reagan signed the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The Amendment became effective March 12, 1989. The 1988 Amendment was enacted to expand the coverage of the Fair Housing Act and to enhance enforcement of the Act.
The 1988 Amendment made major changes to Title VIII, including adding two protected classes to the Fair Housing Act: (1) families with children, and (2) handicapped persons. The Amendment also modified the administrative process for HUD complaints, and essentially provides that HUD had a higher degree of authority to enforce the Fair Housing Act.
The Amendment removed the cap on punitive damages and increased the available damages and civil penalties. The Amendment also extended Title VIII to other discriminatory practices, relating to real estate loans for repairs and improvements, certain secondary market activities, and real estate appraisals.
1787 - U. S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 2):
1791 - Bill of Rights (First 10 Amendments):
1865 - 13th Amendment:
1866 - Civil Rights Act of 1866 (42 U.S.C. 1982):
1868 - 14th Amendment:
1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964:
(2) authorizes withholding of federal funding from state or local grantees engaging in discriminatory activity.
(2) also outlaws private discrimination in advertising, terms of sale or rental, blockbusting and use of real estate services;
(3) an exemption is provided for individual owners of single-family home (where no real estate broker is used) if owner does not own more than three such homes; and
(4) an exemption is provided for housing operations by qualifying religious groups or private clubs.
1973 - Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504):
1974 - Housing and Community Development Act of 1974:
(2) creates "Section 8" programs; and
(3) established Block Grant Program and Urban Development Action Program.
1975 - The Age Discrimination Act of 1975:
1988 - Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988:
(2) mandates handicapped accessibility requirements for new multi-family properties, and permits handicapped tenants to modify existing housing (at tenant's expense); and
(3) increases civil and administrative enforcement relating to potential monetary awards, punitive damages, and attorney's fees.
