On Oct. 25, at Asian American For Equality’s Chinatown office, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Carolyn Peoples announced that HUD will allocate $3.1 million to nonprofit agencies in both New York and New Jersey, to educate community residents on how to defend their rights when facing discrimination in the process of buying or renting houses.
Earlier in the month, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson awarded $17.6 million in grants to 106 public advocate housing groups to help them fight housing discrimination.
According to Peoples, the department’s findings indicate that close to 83 percent of discrimination victims take no legal action. The grants, funded under HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program, are awarded for the purpose of curbing housing discrimination through education provided to the public. Six nonprofit fair housing promoting agencies in New York and two in New Jersey received the grants.
Peoples said HUD awarded the grants to those public agencies, hoping they could use the funds to investigate allegations of housing discrimination made by minority ethnic groups and assist them in dealing with the legal process. HUD hopes those community groups will educate the housing industry and the public about housing discrimination laws, as well as ensure that every house buyer and renter will get equal opportunity and fair treatment when looking for housing.
In order to fight discrimination effectively, Peoples said, cooperation from the public is necessary. If home buyers and tenants become victims of discrimination and understand their legal rights and obligations, they will know which agencies to go to and seek help.
Margaret Chin of the Asian Americans For Equality said that although her organization is not on the list of grant recipients, it has cooperated with the HUD for a long time to promote fair housing education to Asian-American communities, with an annual grant averaging between $80,000 and $100,000.
Commenting about housing discrimination often faced by Chinese-American residents, Chin said that a lack of credit history or bad credit history puts many new Chinese-American immigrants at risk of discrimination when applying for a mortgage. She explained that banks usually provide at least three types of housing loans. However, because many Chinese residents don’t know their rights and are unfamiliar with banking practices, bank representatives will offer them high-interest mortgages or loan combinations that are difficult to afford. She urged people who run into such situations to report it to Asian Americans For Equality. If special legal consulting is needed, the organization will refer them to the appropriate agencies. The contact number of Asian Americans For Equality is (212) 964-6024.
Peoples pointed out that the Fair Housing Act forbids housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, family status and national origin. The Act covers the sale, rental, financing and advertising of almost all housing in the nation. Anyone who believes they have experienced housing discrimination is asked to call HUD's Housing Discrimination Hotline at 1-800-669-9777, TDD 1-800-927-9275. They can also visit HUD's fair housing website at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
