Update on state’s rejection of fair housing complaint

By Joanne Zuhl

The Portland Housing Bureau says it stands by its Fair Housing Action plan, even as the credibility of the fair housing survey fanned its creation it has been cast into doubt.

“We’re very concerned,” says Margaret Van Vliet, talking about the state’s critical review of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon’s handling of a series of tests in Portland.

“I hope it doesn’t cause anyone to believe that there isn’t actually a problem (with discrimination),” Van Vliet said. “I know that there’s a big problem out there and I don’t want that undermined by this.”

Today, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries announced it has dismissed the only complaint by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon resulting from last year’s audit of fair housing practices in Portland. BOLI released the decision today after a contentious give and take with FHCO over the testing methodology that ultimately implicated Cascade Community Management in treating potential renters differently based on their national origin.

BOLI, the statewide agency that enforces housing law and civil rights, said the testing in the report “does not rise to a level sufficient for serious consideration of a Commissioner’s complaint.”

In February, the FHCO presented the city with its results of 50 housing tests: Out of those 50 tests, the Fair Housing Council reported finding discrimination based on race or national origin in more than 32. Among the disparities in treatment were African-Americans and Latinos being told higher movie-in costs and higher rent, and additional costs that were not applied to white applicants.

When it was disclosed in April, the audit caused a fury among housing advocates and critics alike. Fish came under attack for not releasing publicly the results and the targets of the audit sooner, and for appearing lax on enforcement against the alleged offenders. The results of the survey were turned over to BOLI for further investigation and to determine if they were substantial enough to proceed with a legal case.

By then, the Oregon Senate Republicans had jumped into the fray with a letter to Attorney General John Kroger and Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian calling for more aggressive investigating and prosecuting violations of fair housing laws. Avakian fired back, defending the work of BOLI and FHCO.

Breaking News: State rejects Fair Housing Council’s complaint

Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries has dismissed the only complaint by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon against a Portland landlord accused of discriminating against tenants, following a high profile audit that sent the city into a furor over fair housing practices.

BOLI released the decision today after a contentious give and take between BOLI and the FHCO over the testing methodology and implicated Cascade Community Management in discriminating based on race and national origin.

BOLI, the statewide agency that enforces housing law and related civil rights, said the testing in the report “does not rise to a level sufficient for serious consideration of a Commissioner’s complaint.”

The city contracted with the Fair Housing Council last summer to audit fair housing practices among local landlords. It was the first of such audits for the city, which would use the results as part of the federally mandated “analysis to impediments” process in order to receive federal housing funds.

The results, completed in February, were jarring: Out of 50 tests, the Fair Housing Council reported finding discrimination based on race or nation of origin in more than 60 percent of the tests. Among the disparities in treatment were African-Americans and Latinos being told higher movie-in costs and higher rent, and additional costs that were not applied to white applicants. The results of the survey were turned over to BOLI for further investigation.

However, in its summary evaluation of the tests, BOLI sharply criticized FHCO’s practices, in one case stating: “Given the fact that the testers spoke to different agents on different days, with no clear indication that the rents referenced were for the same or qualitatively similar units, it does not appear reasonable to conclude that the discrepancy in the entries on FHCO’s cover sheets should be attributed to discrimination based upon a protected class.”

More on this to follow.

Posted by Joanne Zuhl

Senate Republicans send letter to Attorney General, Avakian on Fair Housing

Senate Republicans in Oregon are calling for strict enforcement of Fair Housing Laws following evidence of racial discrimination in renting practices revealed by an audit put together by the City of Portland.

The audit by the Fair Housing Council of Oregon found that 32 out of 50 test interviews with landlords revealed different treatment for test applicants who were African-American or Latino. The audit was part of the city’s work to prepare its Analysis of Impediments report mandated by the federal government. It was the first such audit the city has commissioned.

In a strongly worded letter (Republican letter for Fair Housing) sent yesterday, state  Republicans in Oregon asked Attorney General John Kroger and Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian to begin aggressively investigating and prosecuting violations of Fair Housing Laws.

“Oregon was a trailblazer in the civil rights movement, adopting fair housing laws before it was a national trend,” said Senator Jackie Winters (R-Salem) in the press release. “News of this prejudice in Portland is disturbing, and proof that the battle against racism must be waged aggressively today as it was in the 1960s”

Updated: You can read Avakian’s response here.

“For the last three years we have worked closely with Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI), and most of the cases around fair housing have been resolved,” says Moloy Good, the Executive Director of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon. “Unfortunately, currently the only funding BOLI gets to do fair housing work in Oregon is from the Federal Government. If the legislature really wants to see strong enforcement across the board than the state should find a way to fund BOLI concerning fair housing.”

“We’re going to be working with landlords and their associations and the advocacy community to do outreach and education,” Portland Housing Commissioner Nick Fish told Street Roots yesterday. “At the same time, we’re going to do some targeted enforcement of the law.”

Fish said that since the city received the audit back in February, he has been talking with various parties, including the Oregon Law Center and Attorney General John Kroger, about developing an approach to addressing the disparities. The violations exposed in the Fair Housing Council’s audit were to state and federal laws, and enforcement is triggered through an essentially complaint driven process, according to Fish. Fair housing complaints are not processed through the city, he said.

Fair Housing Council of Oregon also found housing discrimination taking place in Polk County in April.

By Israel Bayer