HUD ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ADVOCACY GROUPS AND NATIONAL REAL
ESTATE
COMPANY ENSURING DEAF PERSONS HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO HOUSING
COMPANY ENSURING DEAF PERSONS HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO HOUSING
WASHINGTON – The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has
negotiated an agreement between the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Austin
Tenants’ Council, the National Association of the Deaf, and Bell Partners, a
Greensboro, NC-based apartment owner and operator that controls more than
64,000 homes in 15 states, settling allegations that the company’s properties
in Texas and Georgia denied housing to deaf persons.
The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to
refuse to rent, make housing unavailable or discriminate in the terms,
conditions, or privileges associated with the rental of a dwelling on the basis
of disability. This includes refusing to rent to persons who are deaf or hard
of hearing.
The three advocacy
organizations alleged that Bell Partners discriminated against rental
applicants who were deaf or hard of hearing based on a series of fair housing
tests that the groups performed in Savannah, Georgia, and Austin, Texas, in
2013. Testers posing as rental applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing
called to inquire about apartments using the Internet Protocol (IP) Relay
system, which allows deaf or hard of hearing individuals to communicate with
hearing persons via phone using computer text. Multiple tests were
conducted over a period of several months. Agents of Bell Partners
allegedly hung up on testers who used the IP Relay system or sent their calls
directly to voice mail; in contrast, agents accepted calls from testers not
using the IP Relay system. When agents spoke with testers using the IP
Relay system, they allegedly quoted higher rental prices and failed to offer
the same specials and amenities they offered to testers who did not use the IP
Relay system. Agents also allegedly failed to follow up with testers who
used the IP Relay system.
“Testing exposes
housing discrimination that might otherwise go undetected,” said Dave Ziaya,
HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
“The Fair Housing Act protects all potential renters, including those who are
deaf or hard of hearing. HUD will continue to enforce the law to ensure
that no one is denied housing because they have a disability.”
Under the terms of the agreements, Bell Partners will pay
$175,000 to the National Fair Housing Alliance, including $25,000 in attorneys’
fees. Bell Partners will provide fair housing training to both
newly-hired and current employees. The training will cover the use of assistive
technology for the deaf and hard of hearing, including telecommunications relay
services. Additionally, Bell Partners will adopt a written policy addressing
equal access to housing opportunities for applicants with disabilities,
including deaf and hard of hearing individuals, which outlines the correct
handling of telecommunications relay calls and other types of communications
with deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Bell Partners will communicate
the policy to all agents and managers. Bell Partners will pay the
National Association of the Deaf $15,000 for consulting services in the
development of these policies.
The Bell Partners
agreement follows another settlement HUD reached on behalf of deaf and hard of
hearing individuals earlier this year. In February, HUD reached an
agreement with Mercy House Living Centers in Santa Ana, CA, settling
allegations that the center’s employees discriminated against two deaf and hard
of hearing Section 8 applicants when they refused a request for
an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. Under that agreement,
Mercy House Living Centers agreed to pay the applicants $17,500 to cover the
amount of rent they paid during the seven months that they were unable to
participate in the Shelter Care Program, provide ASL interpreters and other
accommodations when necessary to communicate with persons with disabilities,
and provide fair housing training for its employees.
HUD also released a Video Series for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing produced
in collaboration with the National Fair Housing Alliance, Disability
independence Group and Sweetwater Media. The 12 videos are in American Sign
Language (ASL) with English captioning and they provide legal and practical
fair housing information in a format accessible to persons who are Deaf and/or
Hard of Hearing. The videos illustrate common problems faced by persons in the
buying, renting, and use of a home. HUD also has an ongoing series of print PSAs in English and Spanish that address housing
discrimination faced by those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
If you believe your
civil rights have been violated in buying or renting a home or apartment, you
can report it online at www.hud.gov/fairhousing, call
1-800-669-9777, TTY 1-800-927-9275 or by downloading HUD’s free housing
discrimination mobile application, which can be accessed through Apple devices,
such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
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