National report tracks fair housing complaints

Tuesday, April 13, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.

Blacks and disabled people filed almost a third of all housing discrimination complaints nationwide last year, a 2004 Fair Housing Trends Report said.

In Clark County the bulk of the complaints alleging discrimination in fair housing occurred along similar lines, including those for race and from disabled individuals, according to a report issued by the Fair Housing Community Focus Group in Southern Nevada.

In 2001, minorities filed 161 complaints of 294 filed locally, and people with disabilities filed 120, the local report said. The report did not give numbers for separate minorities.

The local report measured complaints in unincorporated parts of Clark County, North Las Vegas and Henderson for 2001, the latest year figures were available. Las Vegas is conducting its own study.

The overall number of fair housing complaints filed in those localities dropped between 2000 and 2001 by 69 cases, the report said, based on complaints received by the Nevada Fair Housing Center.

Records were also gathered from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and court records, Nevada Fair Housing Center President and CEO Gail Burks said.

Nationwide, blacks and Hispanics experienced more than 3 million instances of illegal housing discrimination last year, 29 percent of all complaints, the report said.

The disabled across the country filed almost 3 million complaints, another 27 percent of the total.

The National Fair Housing Alliance released the report March 30. It is the only national organization dedicated to promoting fair housing.

Housing and Urban Development filed lawsuits in only four race discrimination cases in 2003, the report said.

The Justice Department filed only six race discrimination cases last year.

"The numbers tell a very clear, very sad story. The federal Fair Housing Act has not been enforced," Shanna L. Smith, president of the National Fair Housing Alliance, said.

The study found that housing discrimination based on race, national origin and disability is occurring at an alarming rate, Smith said.

The percentage of complaints filed by Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians and Pacific Islanders is artificially low, the report said. Language, cultural and legal barriers among these groups result in under-reporting, the report said. A total of 25,154 complaints were filed nationwide in 2003.

"More than 35 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, it is inexcusable that housing discrimination is so widespread and remains virtually unchallenged," Smith said.

The national study does not break down state and local complaints.

The Silver State Fair Housing Council, which covers all of Northern Nevada, assisted 34 disabled persons with requests for reasonable housing in 2003. "This represents a 59 percent increase in requests," a report on the council's Web site said.

Another 14 requests were denied and eight of those are pursuing claims with the federal housing agency.

The national study called for increasing federal funding at the local level.

The countywide study recommends 16 future strategies, from education to working with the Legislature to clarifying the law in the hope of preventing future lawsuits.

The last major claim settled in Nevada occurred against the developers and builder of Serenade Condominiums in Henderson for $390,000 in 2002.

Under a consent decree Falcon Development Corp., Falcon Homes Inc., Falcon Construction Services Inc., and Frey Associates Limited Partnership, all of whom were responsible for the design and construction of the complex, agreed to pay $330,000 to modify the common and public areas in the condominiums and another $60,000 to individuals in eight homes who were harmed by the lack of accessibility.