The poor in Buffalo rely on government assistance to pay their rent and even with established law it appears they have been discriminated against. In the city of Buffalo, one of the poorest cities in the country, alleged discrimination against Section Eight renters may have occurred and subsequently caused significant concern within certain protected classes.
Discrimination against any class of individual is troubling. A variety of classes have protections under law and violation of these protections could incur expensive legal action.
From InvestigativePost.com (Jul 05, 18):
Buffalo’s fair housing law was put in place to protect the thousands of city residents who rely on government assistance to pay their rent. But, in the 12 years since the law passed, the city has done little to enforce it, despite receiving at least 25 complaints like the one Adkins filed, most of them borne out by undercover testing – the gold standard in housing discrimination cases.
In many cases, it’s unclear whether city officials even decided whether a landlord had violated the law. Those decisions, when they were made, were painfully slow. And even when a landlord was found to have discriminated, in most cases there’s no indication that the city took any action against them. investigativepost.org/2018/07/05/buffalo-not-enforcing-its-fair-housing-law/
The challenges in housing in Buffalo highlights the immediate need for all landlords and property managers to work with a well-qualified third-party tenant screening agency to conduct all tenant background checks. This method still remains a best practice.
Discrimination is illegal in housing under the Fair Housing Act of 1964.
From Nolo.com (No Date Given):
- The federal Fair Housing Acts apply to all aspects of the landlord-tenant relationship. A landlord may not:
- advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, religion, or any other protected category
- falsely deny that a rental unit is available
- set more restrictive standards for selecting tenants or refuse to rent to members of certain groups
- before or during the tenancy, set different terms, conditions, or privileges for rental of a dwelling unit, such as requiring larger deposits of some tenants or adopting an inconsistent policy of responding to late rent payments
- terminate a tenancy for a discriminatory reason. nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/renters-rights-book/chapter5-2.html
One small example of a penalty a landlord or property manager might face by breaking discrimination laws is in Menlo Park, California.
From The Almanac, a local Menlo Park community news webpage (Jul 7, 18):
A violation of the ordinance would be considered a misdemeanor, punishable with fines up to $1,000 or six months in county jail. almanacnews.com/news/2018/07/06/menlo-park-bans-landlords-from-discriminating-against-rent-subsidy-recipients
Tenant screening is a critical part of the vetting process with new applicants. Landlords are always seeking out long-term stable tenants. Shortcutting the screening process and discrimination often proves to be a costly mistake. A best practice remains for all landlords and property managers to work with a well-qualified third-party tenant screening agency to stay fully compliant with all laws state and federal regarding tenant screening.
To learn more about possible discrimination against the poor in the City of Buffalo and how proper tenant screening practices can help avoid discrimination against rental applicants read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: Alleged Discrimination against the Poor in the City of Buffalo Highlights Need to Work w/ Tenant Screening Agency; States TenantScreeningUSA.com