Few of us have likely experienced blatant housing discrimination, yet the practice is alive and well in the North Bay. So much so that Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) stays busy representing individuals who reach out to them for help when they have been turned down for an apartment or other housing.
“We handle individual advocacy, mostly for renters, but they can also be living in homeowners associations (HOAs),” says Julia Howard-Gibbon, a supervising attorney for FHANC, which was founded nearly 40 years ago. “Our agency also looks into lending discrimination, such as by a bank, in which case we do in-home appraisals.”
FHANC’s territory includes Sonoma, Marin and Solano counties, but it receives calls from individuals in other Bay Area counties also, whom it refers to neighboring housing advocacy agencies. “Our focus used to be only Marin, but in 2015 we expanded outward. We also do some work in Alameda County. We provide information to anyone that calls us.”
A typical scenario for FHANC begins with a call from someone who believes they’ve experienced housing discrimination. “We do whatever the client needs,” says Howard-Gibbon. “The person could already be evicted, for instance. And then we can file complaints with the California Civil Rights Department or with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).”
On average, the two staff attorneys and three counselors at the agency have a 20-to-30 client caseload at any point. Out of more than 1,550 calls, she says, FHANC has provided actual representation in some way to approximately 235 of those callers, writing letters on their behalf and filing lawsuits. “We also handled 213 foreclosure cases last year.”
FHANC’s income source is primarily federal funding. In fiscal year 2022-2023, the agency received nearly $1.1 million in federal funds and $333,451 in local government funds. The remainder of its financing is achieved from individual donations, foundation grants, contract revenue, corporate grants, special events, settlements, interest income and board contributions.
Testers help with investigations
In a statement released in September, FHANC announced they had completed an in-depth investigation that revealed a high rate of housing discrimination against Black renters, particularly those with criminal conviction histories, in its three-county territory. “Despite long-standing federal and state fair housing laws, the report shows significant evidence of continued housing discrimination based on race,” said Howard-Gibbon. “This report also highlights how barriers to housing for people with criminal records, particularly Black Americans who face over-policing and higher incarceration rates, have profound impacts, leaving many unhoused and at higher risk of recidivism.”
In this case, FHANC conducted 120 investigations at 30 large rental properties in Marin, Sonoma and Solano counties and analyzed the experiences of Black and white “testers” posing as prospective renters with criminal histories. “This was to determine whether Black applicants with criminal histories are discriminated against on the basis of race and/or disproportionally excluded from housing because of their conviction records,” said Howard-Gibbon.
“Each investigation consisted of four testers, two Black and two white, who contacted landlords to ask whether they screen for criminal histories, what the landlord’s screening policy is, and whether the tester’s application would likely be denied based on the conviction history in the tester’s assigned profile. Some had felonies and some had misdemeanors.”
Howard-Gibbon says FHANC also uses trained testers to check for other types of discrimination, such as a woman posing as a pregnant prospective renter and another who is not pregnant. The agency has also sent out two white people and two Black people separately to investigate if whites are looked upon more favorably than Blacks.
“We also do large-scale investigations every year in the rental market and for appraisals, and we pick a different protected class each year,” she says. “It could be discrimination against national origin or Latina mothers. If we get strong evidence of discrimination we retest and then we can file a complaint.”
Latinx parents targeted
Last year, FHANC released a report of its findings from an investigation of housing discrimination against Latinx parents. As many as 60 landlords operating rental properties in Marin, Solano and Sonoma counties were contacted. Testers posing as potential renters with children––one Latinx and one white non-Latinx––called landlords to inquire about the availability of listed rental properties. Discriminating against households with children or expressing a preference for households without children is called familial status discrimination, which is prohibited by fair housing laws. At 58% of the properties investigated, FHANC found evidence of familial status discrimination (39%), national origin discrimination (over 30%), or both (15%).
Caroline Peattie, executive director of FHANC, stated at the time of the report’s release that although federal and state fair housing laws have for decades prohibited housing discrimination on the basis of national origin and familial status, the complaints her organization receives, and the results of such investigations, show that Latinx families continue to experience discrimination as a barrier to housing choice.
“Discrimination against Latinx renters is compounded when they have children,” she said. “It’s clear that more enforcement actions are needed, as well as increased education and outreach to property owners and managers. When housing providers are willing to openly state their discriminatory housing policies, even in writing, that suggests the likelihood that at least some are unaware of their legal obligations.”
Earlier this year, FHANC settled a disability discrimination complaint against Burbank Housing Development Corporation and Burbank Housing Management Corporation, which own or manage a large number of properties in Sonoma County. This includes the Parkwood Apartments in Santa Rosa and the Oak Ridge Apartments in Sonoma. The complaint settled for $41,500 plus injunctive relief.
“Burbank manages hundreds of units of housing, so it has enormous impact on the community where it operates,” explained Howard-Gibbon. The complaint was initially filed in June 2022 with the Department of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) and HUD. It alleged that Burbank and other named respondents discriminated against people with disabilities.
“For many years our agency had been receiving calls from tenants who have complained that agents at Burbank properties make it difficult for them to access reasonable accommodations in many ways,” said Peattie at the time of the settlement.
“Our agency does a lot of disability discrimination work, and most of it we settle with landlords so we can avoid lawsuits,” adds Howard-Gibbon.
Housing vouchers scorned
FHANC also handles numerous cases of discrimination against people who are seeking housing with Section 8 vouchers. Section 8 of the Fair Housing Act of 1937 provides rental housing assistance to low-income households by paying private landlords to house these tenants. In general, 69% of Section 8 assistance benefits seniors, children and people with disabilities, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. HUD oversees the Section 8 programs.
A recent case settled by FHANC involved a Black woman named Jasmine who was attempting to find housing under Section 8. “She had waited 11 years to get off the wait list for a Section 8 voucher and was so excited to be looking at apartments in Sonoma County. But a landlord was violating the law by discriminating against her. She was homeless and living in her car, and very scared,” says Howard-Gibbon. “Jasmine felt the denial was related to her race, so we got involved and yet she was still denied. We settled on $37,000, and that money went directly to her. She ended up finding housing in Hayward.”
In some cases, settlement funds go directly to the agency’s client, such as in Jasmine’s situation, and if a lawsuit is involved the other side pays the attorney fees.
Failing to rent to people with Section 8 housing vouchers violates the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. In a testing investigation conducted by FHANC in 2021, publicity around the results of the investigation helped to educate the community about the California law that went into effect in January 2020 making it illegal to discriminate against renters with housing vouchers.
“It’s important that landlords do not make the decision to [not] rent to an entire group of people because they had a couple of bad experiences,” stated Peattie about the discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. “Renting only to those who don’t have housing vouchers is no insurance against a bad experience.”
In mid-November, FHANC went into mediation on a case of appraisal discrimination, with the outcome yet to be determined. “If there’s no settlement, the state will file a lawsuit against the appraiser and the lender,” says Howard-Gibbon.
A matter of dignity
She points out that the agency doesn’t usually follow up with past clients to see how they are getting along, but sometimes clients reach out again for help. “We are not social workers or case workers. We are an advocacy organization so our focus is narrower. But clients develop trust in us and sometimes we hear back from them.”
It comes down to human dignity issues, she adds. “Getting through their cases can be very emotional for the clients. It’s powerful to listen to them tell their stories in the mediation process.”
Numbers at a glance
Between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) provided counseling or education to 3,756 tenants, homeowners, home buyers, housing providers, children, social service providers and advocates across Marin, Sonoma and Solano counties and beyond.
Of these clients who received counseling services, 89% are extremely low-, very low-, or low-income. The Latinx community (14% of whom speak primarily Spanish) make up 22% of FHANC clients, and 31% are Black/African American. At least 126 clients or community members received their counseling or education services in Spanish.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, the organization provided counseling related to housing discrimination, foreclosure prevention or first-time home buying to 1,774 clients. Approximately $113,500 in monetary awards or attorney fees were collected on behalf of clients or FHANC to compensate for discriminatory acts committed by housing providers.
As many as 1,982 housing providers, advocates, government staff, service providers and community members were trained through fair housing, pre-purchase and foreclosure prevention workshops and presentations.
Requests for reasonable accommodations in housing were granted to 87% of clients, and 66 clients were assisted in successfully accessing accommodations or modification from landlords to accommodate their disabilities or remain housed.—JSD
Exemplary Service
Last year, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California received an award from Heart of Marin for achievement in nonprofit excellence. The award is given to an organization that has demonstrated exemplary service to its constituents. In the 31st annual awards presentation, FHANC was spotlighted for its mission to “ensure equal housing opportunities for all and to educate the community on the value of diversity in our neighborhoods.”—JSD
Appraisal discrimination in Marin City
A case of home appraisal discrimination that recently received national media attention was successfully overseen by San Rafael-based Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC), an organization that helps thousands of clients every year in their complaints of being discriminated against when seeking housing.
The case revealed that a real estate company had appraised a Black couple’s home in Marin City at almost a half-million-dollars less than when a white friend of the couple posed as the homeowner for a second appraiser who went through the property. The couple were seeking to refinance their mortgage, and the appraised value would determine whether they would qualify or not for a loan. Tenisha Tate-Austin and Paul Austin, who are Black, said for the second appraisal they “white-washed” their home, removing all evidence of their race. Their white friend then added photos of her own family before the second appraisal was conducted.
The first appraiser, Miller and Perotti Real Estate Appraisers, assessed the Austins’ home at $995,000; the second appraisal, arranged by the lender, valued the home at $1,482,500.
The Austins sought the help of FHANC to back their lawsuit against Miller and Perotti for low-balling the home’s value due to discrimination. The case was settled last year in the Austins’ favor for an undisclosed monetary amount, and the appraisal firm was directed to attend a training session provided by FHANC about the history of racial discrimination in real estate––and a promise that it would not discriminate in the future.
“Even decades after the Fair Housing Act of 1968, we still find evidence of housing discrimination fairly often,” stated Julia Howard-Gibbon to the media last year. She is the Northern California supervising attorney for FHANC who handled the case for the Austins.
“Having to erase our identity to get a better appraisal was a wrenching experience,” said Tate-Austin in a prepared statement. Her husband Paul added, “Being able to tell our story and knowing we had legal recourse helped. If you experience discrimination you can go to your local fair housing agency so they can investigate your case and if you want to file a complaint.”
“The crux of this case has much more to do with the indignity of what the Austins believed to be a racially-biased appraisal rather than the monetary damages,” said Howard-Gibbon.—JSD
