On Tuesday June 11, HUD, in partnership with the Urban Institute, released a study conducted in 28 Metropolitan areas, using over 8,000 paired testers, or housing “mystery shoppers”. One white tester paired with one tester of color, who were both qualified for the home in question, responded to various ads for housing. In the case of renters and potential homebuyers, minority testers where told about or taken to see fewer units than their white counterparts. African Americans in the market to own a home were shown 17% fewer options than whites.

HUD has conducted this study roughly once a decade for the last 40 years, and results have demonstrated a key change in the way housing discrimination occurs. When the first study was conducted in the late 1970’s, blatant refusal made it easy to understand how landlords and real estate agents were discriminating. However, with more subtle and sophisticated forms of discrimination occurring these days, it has become more difficult for those seeking housing to recognize whether they are being victimized by discriminatory practices.

Although discrimination is less flagrant and unashamed, its ill effects are undeniable. Being denied housing that one is indeed qualified for can make the house hunting process take longer and cost more. Housing discrimination also perpetuates neighborhood segregation and can sometimes lead to homelessness.

The results of the national study mirror many of GNOFHAC’s investigatory findings over the last several years, indicating the ongoing importance of discrimination testing in the greater New Orleans area.

Interested in becoming a tester for GNOFHAC?  Email mmorgan@gnofairhousing.org.

• First and foremost, a pair of essential foreclosure prevention bills made it to the Governor’s desk.  With leadership from Senate President Pro Tem Sharon Weston Broome and Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, the Louisiana Home Protection Act is scheduled to become law August 1^st!   The legislation prevents needless foreclosures by ensuring that homeowners are informed of the availability of free HUD certified housing counseling services while they still have adequate time to seek those services.
• A second foreclosure bill, which protects tenants living in homes that move into foreclosure, also made it through the legislature.   Also brought by Senator President Pro Tem Broome, the bill requires landlords whose properties have gone into foreclosure to notify tenants in a timely manner, giving families much needed time to look for another home.
• The state legislature also voted to study state landlord and tenant rights, and submit, by February of 2014, a written report and draft legislation to expand tenant rights.  The State Senate, charged with leading this comprehensive study, will produce draft legislation, with consultation from GNOFHAC, by February 1^st.

Outcomes on the full slate of bills GNOFHAC monitored during the legislative session are available here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC), the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and 13 of its member organizations announced a partnership with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. that will provide funds in 19 cities to foster homeownership, assist with rebuilding neighborhoods of color injured by the foreclosure crisis, and promote diverse, inclusive communities.

This is the first-ever agreement regarding the equal maintenance and marketing of Real Estate Owned (REO) homes. The agreement is the result of a federal housing discrimination complaint filed in April 2012 with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  The complaint alleged that Wells Fargo’s bank-owned properties in white areas were much better maintained and marketed by Wells Fargo than REO homes in African-American and Latino neighborhoods.  

As a result of the agreement, GNOFHAC will administer a $1.4 million fund to increase homeownership and neighborhood stabilization in communities of color in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. Nationwide, Wells Fargo will provide a total of $27 million to NFHA and the 13 local non-profit fair housing organizations to benefit 19 cities and promote home ownership, neighborhood stabilization, property rehabilitation, and development in communities of color.

“Homeownership is the gateway to the American middle class, but hard-working homeowners have seen their equity stripped and values lowered because of too many foreclosed homes in their neighborhoods,” said James Perry, Executive Director of GNOFHAC.  “We appreciate Wells Fargo’s commitment to help us improve communities in Baton Rouge and New Orleans and look forward to working with them.”

“NFHA is looking forward to working in partnership with Wells Fargo to make sure that all communities have a chance at a fair recovery,” said Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “We are thrilled to see Wells Fargo’s renewed efforts and leadership in this area.”

The 19 geographic areas included in the agreement with NFHA are: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore and Prince George’s County, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Charleston, SC; Metropolitan Chicago, South Cook County, IL; Oakland and Richmond, CA; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Dayton, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Toledo, OH; and Washington, DC.

Real Estate Owned properties are homes that have gone through foreclosure and are now owned by banks, investors, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration, or Veterans Affairs.

“Many neighborhoods across the country have been seriously damaged by the foreclosure crisis, including the impact of REO homes on property values, curb appeal, and tax revenue for schools,” said Shanna Smith. “Our joint efforts will help lay the foundation for the industry to get some of those neighborhoods back on their feet.”

Under the agreement, Wells Fargo has made a number of very important commitments that will benefit communities throughout the United States, including the following:

- Wells Fargo will pay $27 million to NFHA and the 13 fair housing organizations to assist 19 cities to promote home ownership, neighborhood stabilization, property rehabilitation, and development in communities of color.  

- Wells Fargo will implement best practices for the maintenance and marketing of its REO properties.  A third party will monitor Wells Fargo’s portfolio of REO properties to ensure that Wells Fargo maintains and markets its REO properties according to the standards set forth in the agreement.

- Wells Fargo will enhance its Homeowner Priority program to give owner-occupants higher priority over investors in purchasing REOs.  Wells Fargo will extend its Homeowner Priority period so that owner-occupants will have priority over investors to purchase Wells Fargo REO properties until the fifteenth day a property is on the market rather than the current twelve-day period.

- Wells Fargo will create a new five-day Homeowner Priority period every time there is a price reduction on a Wells Fargo REO home.  Wells Fargo will give priority to owner-occupants who make offers that meet or exceed the price of offers from those who do not intend to live in the home.

- Wells Fargo will make it easier to get information about its REO properties.  Wells Fargo will improve its web site and toll free numbers to provide more information to prospective purchasers and anyone who wants to tell Wells Fargo about a problem with an REO property or an agent who is selling a Wells Fargo REO property.

- Wells Fargo and NFHA will sponsor two conferences designed to bring together approximately 100 industry and non-profit housing and real estate participants and regulatory agencies to discuss fair housing and its intersection with other current housing issues, including short sales, abandoned properties, REO maintenance.

- In consultation with NFHA, Wells Fargo will develop a fair housing training program on REO issues for its employees who work on REO issues and for agents who sell Wells Fargo REO properties.

In addition to the $27 million to promote homeownership, Wells Fargo will pay $3 million to NFHA and the 13 fair housing organizations for costs and damages, including diversion of resources incurred in connection with the investigations, and attorney fees. Wells Fargo is also committing $300,000 for the two national conferences and $250,000 to NFHA and local fair housing centers to hold seminars and address delinquencies and foreclosures.

Under the agreement, Wells Fargo will provide an additional $11.5 million to HUD to support neighborhoods in an additional 25 cities.  Those cities are Austin, TX, Bakersfield, CA, Detroit, MI, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Fresno, CA, Houston, TX, Kansas City, MO, Las Vegas, NV, Los Angeles, CA, Memphis, TN, Modesto, CA, New York, NY, Phoenix, AZ, Riverside, CA, Sacramento, CA, San Antonio, TX, San Diego, CA, San Jose, CA, Santa Ana, CA, St. Louis, MO-IL, Stockton, CA, Tampa, FL, Vallejo, CA, Virginia Beach, VA, and West Palm Beach, FL.

The National Fair Housing Alliance and 13 local fair housing organizations are represented by Joseph M. Sellers and Peter Romer-Friedman of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

“This groundbreaking settlement is a testament to the fair housing movement’s vision and dedication to the promise of equality for all communities,” said Romer-Friedman, who represented the fair housing organizations in the action and settlement talks.  “This settlement will ensure that every community shares in the fruits of the housing recovery now underway.”

NFHA and its members have two similar housing discrimination complaints pending against US Bank and Bank of America, filed in April 2012 and September 2012 respectively.

“Other banks should follow Wells Fargo’s lead and engage in broad relief to communities damaged by the foreclosure crisis,” continued Shanna Smith. “This is a huge step in the right direction and more is needed to get our neighborhoods, especially communities of color, back on their feet.”

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status, as well as the race or national origin of residents of a neighborhood.  This law applies to housing and housing-related activities, which include the maintenance, appraisal, listing, marketing and selling of homes.

Additional information, including complaint and conciliation agreement documents between Wells Fargo and the fair housing groups, and information about the Bank of America and U.S. Bank complaints, is available on the NFHA website: www.nationalfairhousing.org.

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The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is a private nonprofit organization. GNOFHAC is dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination and furthering equal housing opportunities through education, outreach, advocacy, and enforcement of fair housing laws across the metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.

The activity described above was funded through a combination of private funding and HUD support. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Govern

Please click to here to send an email to your Representative and prevent needless foreclosures.

If passed, the bill would improve homeownership protection by making information available about free housing counseling or legal services for homeowners facing sheriff’s sale.

This Friday, May 17^th, Cripple Creek Theatre Company will premiere Bruce Norris’ play Clybourne Park for the first time in the region at the Shadow Box Theater here in New Orleans. Currently one of the hottest plays on Broadway, Clybourne Park takes place in a house in south Chicago over the span of 50 years. A response to Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun, the play dissects race relations and exclusionary housing practices from 1959 until 2009.

Over the last year, GNOFHAC has been proud to collaborate with Cripple Creek Theatre Company on multiple community based theater initiatives. The production of Clybourne Park is an integral part of this initiative, following the creation and staged reading of Spirit House, an original play about gender and housing by local playwrights Geryll Robinson and Lakeesha Harris, and produced by Cripple Creek.

Clybourne Park will run from May 17^th until June 23^rd, and tickets may be purchased here. Consider going to see the show- we may be biased but we are really excited about the opportunity to use theater as a tool to discuss such important topics.

Also on Friday, the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced its own settlement with the Parish in regards to a separate lawsuit it filed, also in January 2012, which alleged that the Parish “violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in a multi-year campaign to limit rental housing opportunities for African-Americans in the parish.”  The USDOJ settlement requires the Parish to undergo comprehensive fair housing training, establish a Parish-wide Office of Fair Housing staffed by at least one full-time Fair Housing Coordinator, engage in affirmative marketing to both developers of rental housing and renters interested in living in the Parish, and establish a rental land grant program to facilitate the development of rental housing throughout the Parish.

Both settlements stem from alleged civil rights violations on the part of the Parish that have unfolded over the course of more than seven years.

GNOFHAC settled an earlier challenge to a Parish ordinance that restricted the rental of single-family residences to those related by blood to the owner of the property. In 2008, the Parish agreed to enter into a consent decree with GNOFHAC resolving that lawsuit. However, the Parish and the Parish Council were repeatedly held in contempt by a federal judge for violating the 2008 Consent Order, including for enacting two multi-family construction moratoria that were found to violate the Fair Housing Act. Racial discrimination has been a clear and consistent theme throughout the course of the legal battle.

GNOFHAC Executive Director James Perry comments, “The terms of the agreements that the Parish entered into today- valued at over $2.5 million- indicate that Parish attitudes towards fair housing responsibilities have changed drastically as a result of our ongoing work over the course of the last seven years.  The monetary settlement between the Parish, GNOFHAC and nine individual plaintiffs will make those harmed by the PUP process whole again.  The comprehensive USDOJ settlement agreement with the Parish is incredibly detailed and has the potential to make great strides in ensuring that everyone seeking to make a home in St. Bernard has an equal opportunity to do so.”

Reed Colfax and Jamie Crook of Relman, Dane and Colfax PLLC managed the litigation on GNOFHAC’s behalf.

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The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center (GNOFHAC) is a private nonprofit organization. GNOFHAC is dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination and furthering equal housing opportunities through education, outreach, advocacy, and enforcement of fair housing laws across the metro New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas. The activities described in this release were privately funded.

Louisiana Home Protection Act headed for Senate floor!

The Louisiana Home Protection Act sailed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday and is now headed for the Senate floor! Please take a moment right now to help prevent needless foreclosures.

If passed, the bill would improve homeownership protection by making information available about free housing counseling or legal services for homeowners facing sheriff’s sale.

Medicaid Expansion Clears House Committee

Safe, decent and affordable housing is important to health outcomes, just as access to better medicine and preventative care are.  Yesterday, Rep. Smith cleared her Medicaid Expansion bill out of the Committee on Health and Welfare.  Click here to read why Medicaid expansion is crucial to promoting housing opportunity.  Then take action to expand coverage for 422,000 Louisianians.

Image: Spring Johnson

In late April, we were shocked and saddened to hear that a GNOFHAC client, Ms. Jones,*  had lost her home and all of her family’s possessions when the apartment that she and her five children had been living in was destroyed in a fire.

GNOFHAC first began working with Ms. Jones when she came to us after being evicted from her home shortly after filing a police report against her landlord for severe sexual harassment.   Ms. Jones’ account of the property owner’s brazen behavior was shocking, and a thorough investigation conducted by our Enforcement Team revealed that she was not the only tenant who had been abused by this landlord.

GNOFHAC staff soon discovered that this property owner had a lengthy history of sexually harassing his tenants:  several women reported that he had attempted to exchange rent for sexual favors, engaged in lewd behaviors in front of them and their young children, and often let himself into their apartments uninvited.  Although this landlord owned over 20 properties, he limited his abuse to his most vulnerable renters:  single women (some with young children to care for) who had fallen behind on rent and would have difficulty securing other housing.  Thanks to Ms. Jones’ bravery, we’ve filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of her and other renters and are working to prevent this property owner from illegally harassing future tenants.

After leaving the home where she was being harassed, Ms. Jones and her five children relocated to a small town in northern Louisiana for a new start.  Unfortunately, last month, a house fire broke out in the apartment that she and her children were living in, rendering the property unlivable.  Thankfully, no one was home at the time of the fire, but the family lost their home and all of their belongings.  The Red Cross generously paid for the family’s brief emergency stay in a local motel, and our office was able to assist Ms. Jones in quickly securing a Section 8 voucher.  The Jones family is currently searching for a new home and is working hard to return to normal.

In the meantime, the family is staying in temporary housing and needs some help getting back on their feet.  If you are able, please join us in supporting Ms. Jones as she and her children work to recover from this disaster. Through your generosity, you can help ensure that Ms. Jones and her family are able to rebuild their lives, replace their belongings, and get back to normal as quickly as possible.  Click here to contribute.

UPDATE – 5/24/13:  Ms. Jones and her children have secured a new home with the Section 8 voucher we helped her to obtain.  The Jones family has been so touched by the outpouring of generous donations and support from our friends from around the state, and would like to say thank you to all those who’ve reached out.

*Name changed for privacy.

GNOFHAC hosts a number of free events throughout the year.  To get the latest information on upcoming events, sign up for our e-list and like us on Facebook!

The main attraction

 GNOFHAC staff and guests digging in!

 GNOFHAC’s James Perry chats with NOLA City Councilmember LaToya Cantrell

Education Coordinator Sophie Rosen with Fair Housing Five illustrator Sharika Mahdi Neville

Board members Sara Meadows Tolleson and Wendy Hickok Robinson chat with friends

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate National Fair Housing Month with us!  Click here to see the full album.

The work of health programs (such as Medicaid) and housing programs (such as those administered by HUD) intersect.  For example, HUD partnerships with state Medicaid agencies to help people with disabilities move from institutional care to community living improves outcomes for everyone, including fiscal hawks concerned about rising expenses on both the medical and shelter sides.

In other states, Medicaid agencies have partnered with homeless services to provide on-site recovery and respite for people in medical recovery that would otherwise return to the streets (and probably the hospital).  By partnering health and housing services, the patient receives adequate care that creates long term benefits and avoids repeat medical care.

Finally, when more people are insured, they are less likely to be devastated by medical expenses that in turn endanger their housing stability.  Without the financial break-down that unexpected medical expenses can bring, families are better able to accrue savings, move into lower poverty neighborhoods and access the kinds of opportunity that these moves create.

Governor Jindal must know that health care insurance is a good thing because he and his family have it.  If Medicaid expansion passed, 422,000 other families in Louisiana would have it, too.

Take action here and urge Governor Jindal and the Louisiana State Legislature to expand Medicaid to help families throughout the state!