If you're a landlord, property manager, real estate agent, building staff member, or other housing professional who interacts with tenants and prospects on a regular basis, then this book is for you. Fair Housing Helper for Apartment Professionals gives you the answers you need to avoid liability and handle the practical issues that arise all the time at properties like yours. Find out what you need to know about fair housing compliance in plain English through an engaging, interactive quiz-based format that encourages knowledge, participation, and lasting comprehension. Discover the answers to these questions and more: * What phrases should I avoid when advertising my apartments? * Can I reject applicants who weren't born in the U.S.A.? * Do I have enough parking spaces for people with disabilities? * Must I let a tenant keep a cat for his disability? * Can I require families to put children in separate bedrooms? * Can I reject prospects with HIV or AIDS for health reasons? * Should I worry about discriminating against illegal drug users? * Will I get fined because all my tenants are white? * Must I rent to families with children at my senior community? * Will I get into trouble for turning away Section 8 prospects? * Can I legally reject prospects who are openly gay? * Do I need to install grab bars in my apartments' bathrooms? * Can I decorate my common areas for the holidays? Complete the Quiz to earn your designation as a FairHousingHelper.com Gold Professional. You'll get a badge to include on your Web site and marketing materials and a personalized certificate for your office wall to mark your achievement and display your commitment to fair housing compliance. After finishing the book once, you'll immediately gain the confidence of knowing how to handle common situations with prospects and tenants that could lead to fair housing liability and thousands of dollars in damages. Plus, should you need to defend yourself against a fair housing complaint, this small purchase can paint you in a positive light, bolstering your credibility with a judge and helping you avoid costly punitive damages.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination in the sale, rent, and financing of housing based on race, religion, and national origin. However, manifold historical and contemporary forces, driven by both governmental and private actors, have segregated these protected classes by denying them access to homeownership or housing options in high-performing neighborhoods. Perspectives on Fair Housing argues that meaningful government intervention continues to be required in order to achieve a housing market in which a person's background does not arbitrarily restrict access. The essays in this volume address how residential segregation did not emerge naturally from minority preference but rather how it was forced through legal, economic, social, and even violent measures. Contributors examine racial land use and zoning practices in the early 1900s in cities like Atlanta, Richmond, and Baltimore; the exclusionary effects of single-family zoning and its entanglement with racially motivated barriers to obtaining credit; and the continuing impact of mid-century "redlining" policies and practices on public and private investment levels in neighborhoods across American cities today. Perspectives on Fair Housing demonstrates that discrimination in the housing market results in unequal minority households that, in aggregate, diminish economic prosperity across the country. Amended several times to expand the protected classes to include gender, families with children, and people with disabilities, the FHA's power relies entirely on its consistent enforcement and on programs that further its goals. Perspectives on Fair Housing provides historical, sociological, economic, and legal perspectives on the critical and continuing problem of housing discrimination and offers a review of the tools that, if appropriately supported, can promote racial and economic equity in America. Contributors: Francesca Russello Ammon, Raphael Bostic, Devin Michelle Bunten, Camille Zubrinsky Charles, Nestor M. Davidson, Amy Hillier, Marc H. Morial, Eduardo M. Peñalver, Wendell E. Pritchett, Rand Quinn, Vincent J. Reina, Akira Drake Rodriguez, Justin P. Steil, Susan M. Wachter.

Reduce your risk and rent without worry! Being a landlord can be tricky in this volatile housing market. But with Every Landlord’s Property Protection Guide you can identify common risky situations and get specific, practical advice for dealing with them! Instead of an encyclopedic manual of how to be a landlord, author and attorney Ron Leshnower zeroes in on specific problems faced by thousands of landlords and property managers in every state – ranging from accessibility issues to mold – and shows you how to avoid them. The book includes step-by-step procedures to help landlords and managers: Get the right insurance for your property Lower the risk of crime Understand fair housing rules Stay on good terms with Uncle Sam Remove environmental hazards Become a careful, consistent steward of your property Plus, each chapter features real life ""It Won't Happen To You"" stories of those who learned the hard way what can happen when you don’t take care of problems before they arise.

The Fair Housing Act Design Manual: A Manual to Assist Designers and Builders in Meeting the Accessibility Requirements of The Fair Housing Act provides clear and helpful guidance about ways to design and construct housing which complies with the Fair Housing Act. The manual provides direct information about the accessibility requirements of the Act, which must be incorporated into the design, and construction of multifamily housing covered by the Act. It carries out two statutory responsibilities: (1) to provide clear statement of HUD's interpretation of the accessibility requirements of the Act so that readers may know what actions on their part will provide them with a "safe harbor"; and (2) to provide guidance in the form of recommendations which, although not binding meet the Department's obligation to provide technical assistance on alternative accessibility approaches which will comply with the Act, but may exceed its minimal requirements. The latter information allows housing providers to choose among alternative and also provides persons with disabilities with information on accessible design approaches. The Manual clarifies what are requirements under the Act and what are HUD's technical assistance recommendations. The portions describing the requirements are clearly differentiated from the technical assistance recommendations.

The federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 was passed in a time of turmoil, conflict, and often conflagration in cities across the nation. It took the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to finally secure its passage. The Kerner Commission warned in 1968 that "to continue present policies is to make permanent the division of our country into two societies; one largely Negro and poor, located in the central cities; the other, predominantly white and affluent, located in the suburbs and outlying areas". The Fair Housing Act was passed with a dual mandate: to end discrimination and to dismantle the segregated living patterns that characterized most cities. The Fight for Fair Housing tells us what happened, why, and what remains to be done. Since the passage of the Fair Housing Act, the many forms of housing discrimination and segregation, and associated consequences, have been documented. At the same time, significant progress has been made in counteracting discrimination and promoting integration. Few suburbs today are all white; many people of color are moving to the suburbs; and some white families are moving back to the city. Unfortunately, discrimination and segregation persist. The Fight for Fair Housing brings together the nation’s leading fair housing activists and scholars (many of whom are in both camps) to tell the stories that led to the passage of the Fair Housing Act, its consequences, and the implications of the act going forward. Including an afterword by Walter Mondale, this book is intended for everyone concerned with the future of our cities and equal access for all persons to housing and related opportunities.