An Intro to Fair Housing in DC

We talk about fair housing every day at Flock. It’s not only an integral part of our jobs in property management, but we also think about how we can be a part of the movement as a leader in the real estate industry. See: our mission behind our birdSEED Foundation.

We’re going to dive into many aspects of fair housing in this blog series, but we’re starting with the basics: what’s the history of the movement, and how has that shaped the landscape in DC?

“Fair” housing emerged from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Equitable access to housing became a key issue after the Vietnam War, and it was championed by Martin Luther King Jr. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was enacted four years after the Civil Rights Act, both by Lyndon B. Johnson. The Act’s intention was to end racial discrimination in sales, rentals, and financing of housing. What we call redlining was made illegal. In 1988, the Act was expanded to include additional protected classes, so the updated list became: Race, Color, National Origin, Religion, Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), Familial Status, and Disability.

While discrimination became illegal, “white flight” followed, and we still see, in many respects, a dual housing market: one for whites and one for people of color, “separate and unequal.” Exclusionary zoning, appraisal bias, and gentrification are some of the culprits behind the fact that housing segregation still exists. 

DC, however, arguably leads the way in the enforcement of these laws. It would be remiss of us not to give a nod here to our local hero, Karl Racine. Nationwide, you can still find targeted ads, lack of fair advertising, and steering in rental ads online. The Attorney General’s office in DC has shown how seriously this city takes fair housing and has cracked down on property owners who think they can flout the laws. DC not only adheres to the federal Fair Housing Act, but we have an expanded Act of our own, the DC Human Rights Act. This Act has 21 protected classes (including gender identity, political affiliation, and source of income), and more are periodically added. 

With such a robust policy, you might wonder how it’s possible for housing discrimination to persist in DC. We hear a lot of misconceptions about fair housing that are rooted in fear, and that fear leads some property owners to take risks and knowingly avoid compliance with the law. It’s not uncommon to hear things like, “I should get to handpick my tenant to make sure they’re a good fit for the building,” or  “I only have one rental property, so the rules don’t apply to me, right?”.

We bet you can guess what kind of tenants cause the most concern amongst property owners. The source of income trait in the DC Human Rights Act largely exists to protect households receiving rental assistance, usually in the form of a voucher, formerly known as Section 8. Circle back to our last blog post about the benefits of working with DC’s voucher programs and listen to us on the REI Concierge podcast as we dive deeper into that particular topic.

Next time, we’ll talk about fair housing in practice and the Dos and Don’ts for property owners who rent in DC. The hardest part is understanding what all the District’s laws mean for you. We’re here to help educate and ensure compliance every step of the way.