Giving Compass' Take:

• Jake Lilien explains that civil rights testing has found that in spite of laws to prevent discrimination in lending, housing discrimination persists. 

• Beyond laws, what is needed to ensure that housing is equitable? What role can funders play in advancing housing equity? 

• Read more about discriminatory lending. 

The practice of restricting neighborhoods to certain races or incomes was a significant part of America’s segregated past. Discrimination in lending and housing is generally less overt than it used to be, but it’s still a problem.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s fair housing and fair lending teams regularly conduct civil rights testing to determine whether housing providers and lenders comply with civil rights laws. This testing has led to several recent victories against businesses with discriminatory practices. Here are some examples from 2019:

A housing provider in Newport News, Virginia, agreed to a settlement after NCRC’s testing showed that a white “tester” was given substantially better treatment than a Latino tester.

In this case, both testers spoke to the same leasing agent on the same day and inquired about a one-bedroom apartment. The Latino tester was told that there were no one-bedroom units available, while the white tester was told that a one-bedroom unit was available. The white tester was given a tour, and the Latino tester was not.

The housing provider settled with NCRC and agreed to pay $2,500 in damages. The provider also agreed to arrange for its staff to receive civil rights training.

In a similar case in Jacksonville, Florida, a housing provider agreed to a settlement after NCRC’s testing showed that a white tester was given substantially better treatment than an African American tester.

Read the full article about discriminatory housing practices by Jake Lilien at Inequality.