Cabarrus County, the City of Kannapolis and the City of Concord are partnering to host a free event to educate residents about the Fair Housing Act and their rights as tenants or homebuyers.
For some, housing discrimination can add hurdles to securing safe, permanent housing. To help increase understanding of the Fair Housing Act and rights afforded by it, the agencies are collaborating on “Fair Housing: Making Every Zip Code an Opportunity.”
El Puente Hispano will host a Spanish session on Tuesday, April 25 from 6 to 7 p.m. The English session will be held virtually on Thursday, April 27, from 6 to 7 p.m., with featured speaker Emma Sellers, chief equity, diversity and inclusion officer for the PA Education Association.
The event is open to the public, and Cabarrus Assistant County Manager Kelly Sifford hopes local landlords, realtors, lenders and insurance agents will actively participate.
Made illegal through Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, housing discrimination can take many forms. Fair Housing Act legislation eliminates barriers that restrict access to housing opportunities based on protected characteristics, which are race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status and disability.
The County and cities are recipients of federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds, and the agencies are required to further the policies and purposes of the Act. The agencies screen impediments to fair housing choice and refer complaints to the N.C. Human Relations Commission, which maintains records of investigations and corrective actions.
Sifford believes many local issues could be prevented through proper education on what is considered discrimination when renting or selling properties, lending credit and insuring properties.
Examples of discriminatory practices include:
- Running discriminatory advertisements (e.g., “No kids allowed”)
- Using stall tactics to avoid showing a home to a buyer
- Denying loans or insurance to prospective homebuyers in certain neighborhoods
“The legalities of discrimination should be understood,” Sifford said. “Conversations and education on the nuances of the law can help our community understand how discrimination finds its way into housing interactions and prevent it from happening in the future.“
To learn more about the Fair Housing Act, including who it protects and what is prohibited, visit hud.gov/fairhousing.
Register for “Fair Housing: Making Every Zip Code an Opportunity”
To attend the in-person Spanish presentation at El Puente Hispano in Concord, register online at bit.ly/fairhousingspanishreg.
To attend the virtual English presentation, register online at bit.ly/fairhousingenglishreg. Registrants will receive a link to the presentation via the email address used for registration.