New Orleans Fair Housing

Where are the best neighborhoods?  I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that.

What kind of people live in this neighborhood?  I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that.

Are there a lot of (insert description here) people in this neighborhood?  I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that.

Is this a safe area?  I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that.

I know that buyers relocating to New Orleans can often feel as if they have run up against a brick wall when trying to get answers to what they feel are important questions regarding the location of their new home.  Sometimes they think that their agent is not truly working for them.  I’ve heard complaints like “my last agent sent me nothing but homes in bad neighborhoods”. But when it comes to New Orleans fair housing, we don’t play around.

Here is why I can’t tell you that…

From the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website:

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability)….

In the Sale and Rental of Housing: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

• Refuse to rent or sell housing
• Refuse to negotiate for housing
• Make housing unavailable
• Deny a dwelling
• Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
• Provide different housing services or facilities
• Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental
• For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting) or
• Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.

From REALTOR.org:

For the Home Seeker: You have the right to expect that housing will be available to you without discrimination or other limitations based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin

This includes the right to expect:

• Housing in your price range made available to you without discrimination
• Equal professional service
• The opportunity to consider a broad range of housing choices
• No discriminatory limitations on communities or locations of housing
• No discrimination in the financing, appraising, or insuring of housing
• Reasonable accommodations in rules, practices and procedures for persons with disabilities
• Non-discriminatory terms and conditions for the sale, rental, financing, or insuring of a dwelling
• To be free from harassment or intimidation for exercising your fair housing rights.

Recently, the U. S. Department of Justice filed suit against a real estate brokerage in Illinois, alleging that some home buyers were steered to particular areas, while others were advised that the same areas were dumps.  When I counsel you to take the time to drive around, get the lay of the land and find the neighborhood that best suits your needs and your lifestyle, I’m not trying to pass the buck.

Quite the contrary…I’m following the LAW.

For more information about Fair Housing, visit the HUD website.