Program areas at Fair Housing Center
Enforcement of Fair Housing civil rights laws: we provide free assistance for victims of Housing discrimination by investigating claims of discrimination, informing victims of their rights, contacting Housing providers to negotiate resolutions, filing legal claims, training individuals and Housing providers on their rights and responsibilities under Fair Housing laws, and monitoring compliance with settlement agreements and orders enforcing Fair Housing laws. During the fiscal year, we completed over 2,200 intakes of individuals contacting us for assistance and investigated 132 new complaints alleging discrimination.
Free legal services to assist tenants: we provide free legal services to tenants in lucas county who are experiencing substandard Housing conditions caused by absentee or unresponsive landlords. Many cases are resolved through mediation with the landlord. In addition, attorneys assisting the tenant may file cases in court to enforce the rights of the tenants. In the last fiscal year, this program assisted hundreds of tenants and recovered more than $20,000 back to tenants who were harmed by substandard Housing conditions.
Fair Housing education and outreach: we also perform outreach and education to help prevent Housing discrimination and create a more welcoming community. In the last fiscal year, we completed 44 trainings, and approximately 908 people received trainings. Through these trainings and community engagement activities, the general public and Housing industry professionals are informed about their Fair Housing rights and responsibilities under the law. We also distributed 13,231 educational materials, and realized more than 15,164,974 impressions.