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.
