On July 7, the Department of Justice filed a complaint against AION Management on behalf of HECP, the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, and the National Fair Housing Alliance, for denying assigned parking spaces to prospective residents with disabilities. The three organizations investigated multiple apartment complexes managed by AION in Eastern and Western Pennsylvania and Delaware throughout 2020 and HUD issued a charge of discrimination earlier this year.
News
Montgomery County Management Company Pays $15,000 for Charging Residents with Disabilities for Reserved Parking
The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania (“HECP”) has entered into a conciliation agreement resolving a federal housing discrimination complaint against Danella Realty and Management Company (“Danella”) and two condominium complexes for violating the disability portion of the federal Fair Housing Act. Between January and April of 2021, HECP received complaints from two individuals who lived at Gypsy Lane Condominiums in Philadelphia. Both residents had disabilities which impaired their abilities to walk long distances and necessitated that they be permitted reserved parking spaces near their units. While Danella agreed to grant their requests, the management company informed the residents that
Fair Housing News – June 2023
Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ have legal recourse if they experience housing discrimination in any housing transaction or housing-related financial transaction. In 2021, under Executive Order 13988, federal protections regarding sex discrimination in housing were expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. All HUD-funded jurisdictions and housing programs are also obligated to prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination.
Fair Housing News – February 2023
In December of 2022, HECP filed a complaint against ProManaged LLC in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging that ProManaged’s policy and practice of refusing to accept Housing Choice Vouchers in predominantly white neighborhoods, while advertising that they accept them in majority Black neighborhoods, disparately treats and disparately impacts prospective Black renters in violation of the Fair Housing Act. HECP also filed a charge with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations for violating the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination based on source of income, including housing assistance programs. Almost immediately, the parties reached
Fair Housing News – December 2022
HECP is excited to introduce our new Intake Specialist, Janis Stacy. Janis has been a community activist for racial and LGBTQI2S+ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Queer Intersex 2-Spirit) equity for over 40 years. She has run diversity trainings on trans inclusion and cultural competency about Indigenous American Two-Spirit and trans people. She has been a community activist for equity for over 40 years including in housing and homelessness.
Fair Housing News – September 2022
HECP and a Bucks County couple have entered into an agreement resolving allegations that CM Bucks Landing 120, LLC, Residential Management (NY), Inc., and Aspen Grove Apartment Homes violated the Fair Housing Act by adopting and applying policies that discriminated against applicants based on national origin, race, and familial status.
Rental Housing Provider to Pay $450,000 for National Origin, Race, and Familial Status Discrimination at Bucks County Apartment Complex
The Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania (HECP) and a Bucks County couple have entered into an agreement resolving allegations that CM Bucks Landing 120, LLC, Residential Management (NY), Inc., and Aspen Grove Apartment Homes violated the Fair Housing Act by adopting and applying policies that discriminated against potential applicants based on national origin, race, and familial status. In May of 2019, HECP was contacted when a family had their application for tenancy rejected by Aspen Grove Apartment Homes due to the complex’s policy of requiring that all adults have a social security number. The husband had a social security number,
Fair Housing News – August 2022
On July 27, 2022, the Department of Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Attorneys General of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware announced a resolution after a years-long investigation into redlining practices by Trident Bank. Under the consent order Trident has agreed to invest over $20 million to increase credit opportunities in neighborhoods of color in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. HECP collaborated with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office to conduct testing to support their investigations in Philadelphia.
DOJ, CFPB, and PA, NJ, and DE Attorneys General Settle Redlining Case Against Trident Mortgage
“Trident’s unlawful redlining activity denied communities of color equal access to residential mortgages, stripped them of the opportunity to build wealth, and devalued properties in their neighborhoods” -Attorney General Kristen Clarke Established by the Federal Housing Administration and the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation in the 1930s, the discriminatory practice of redlining labeled communities of color as too risky to invest in through federal loan programs. It was nearly impossible for individuals living in neighborhoods that were not homogenously White to receive federally insured loans. Redlining kept Black residents from accessing the capital to make necessary changes to their homes and encouraged
Fair Housing News – June 2022
HECP now has Know Your Rights as a Renter in Pennsylvania recorded webinars for consumers available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese on our new YouTube channel. These 20 minute trainings teach renters the basics of state and federal fair housing laws and Pennsylvania landlord tenant law.