Matthew Rathbun's real estate fair housing presentation for realtors in Virginia. Covers 2 hour CE, PLE requirement.

1. Fair Housing for All
TheAgentTrainer.com | @MattRathbun
Matthew Rathbun
ABR, ABRM, AHWD, CDPE, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GREEN, GRI, SRES, SFR, SRS

2. TheAgentTrainer.com
@MattRathbun
Husband and Father
Broker
Thinks He’s Funnier Than He Is…
He’s Been Around
Disrupter

3. History of Civil Rights
1866AD
Ownership by Race
1968AD
Civil Rights Act
1972AD
Gender Added
1988AD
Disability &
Familial Status
2010AD
Gender Preference
[NAR]

4. Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the
pursuit of Happiness.”

5. “All citizens of the United States shall have the same right
to every state and territory as is enjoyed by white citizens
therefor to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey
real and personal property”
Title VIII | Civil Rights Act - 1866

6. Discriminate Discrimination
To distinguish or
differentiate
Treat differently of the
basis of something
other than merit.VS

7. Be Like a Panda

8. What Applies?
Sales | Rentals
Appraisals
MLSMortgages
Insurance Ads | Marketing

9. Allowable Discrimination
Work History Criminal History Credit History
Rental History Source of Funds
Use Caution

10. Exceptions
Commercial Owner < 4 Units Religious Groups Elderly Housing

11. RE Agents Are Never Exempt

12. Federally
PROTECTED CLASSES

13. Race

14. Disability

15. Familial

16. National Origin

17. Color

18. Gender

19. Religion

20. Virginia
PROTECTED CLASSES

21. Elderliness

22. Hoarding

23. Realtor
PROTECTED CLASSES

24. Sexual
Orientation

25. Types of Violations
Steering
Blockbusting
Redlining

26. Fair Housing Posters
Fair Housing Posters are required to
be posted in a predominate
location in your Real Estate office.
[Reg 2.5.E]
• Logo is NOT required in your marketing
• You are NOT required to have both English and
Spanish available

27. Relevance

28. Just Because All Of The Google
Images For Fair Housing Are In
Black and White, Does Not Mean
That It’s Not A Culturally Relevant
Issue Today.

30. 2008 “H.O.M.E” Audit
• 97% had from 1-8 potentional accessibility
violations
• 66% of African American testers had less
favorable treatments than whites
• 15% of families were discouraged
• 20% of disabled were discouraged
• 15% accepted Section VIII

32. Recent Marketing Postcard

35. Common Risk Issues

37. Linguistic Profiling
Studies show that we can identify
someone’s race 70% of the time by
listening to them speak…
• Return every call
• Treat every consumer the same
• Use the same approach in dealing with everyone
• Do self-testing

39. Disability
Any physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits one or more
major life activities…
• Impairment must be obvious -or- documented
• 55 - 60 million people are considered disabled

40. Reasonable Accommodations
“It’s unlawful to refuse to make a
reasonable accommodation in the
rules, policies, practices or services,
when such accommodation may be
necessary to afford a handicapped
person equal opportunity to use and
enjoyment his/her dwelling.”

41. Reasonable Modifications
It’s unlawful to refuse to permit, at
the expense of the handicapped
person, reasonable modifications
of the existing premises if such
modifications may be necessary
to afford the handicapped person
full enjoyment of the premises.

42. Service and
Companion Pets

43. When Can Pets Be Denied?
• Not a service pet or comfort pet
• Poses direct threat to health or safety
• Results in substantial damage
• Poses undue financial or admin burden
• Fundamentally alter Providers Use
Additional Deposits May Not Be Charged

44. Familial Status
Keating Memo - 2 Persons Per Bedroom
Location Restrictions
“No Child” Policies
“Familial” deals with children, not marriage

45. Case
Studies

46. Comm. of Virginia vs Rufus Matthews

47. The Advocate - Virginia

48. HUD vs Banai
Mr. and Mrs. Banai hired a rental specialist at
Manhatten Group Real Estate, Inc in Florida.
When agent presented lease-offer to the Banai’s,
they asked if the couple was black. When the
rental specialist confirmed that they were, the
Banai’s declined to rent the property.
Agent informed tenants and her broker who
terminated the agreement & counseled the
agent.
The tenants filed a complaint....

49. HUD vs Banai
• HUD Judge ordered Banais to pay
$70,000 in damages to the
complainants and $10,000 in civil
penalties to HUD.
• Agent was ordered to pay $150 in civil
fines and attend a Fair Housing class.
• No penalty imposed on the Broker

50. Manassas “Family Rule”
Zoning Ordinance adopted in December
2005, by the city of Manassas redefines
family, essentially restricting households to
immediate relatives, even when the total is
below the occupancy limit.
Overturned 2005

51. Karl Harris - Virginia Tech
Harris and three other students rode on an elevator in
the early morning hours of Nov. 13 with a female Tech
student whose parents are from Bangladesh.
The men harassed her for more than half an hour,
standing in her way when she tried to use the
residence hall bathroom and knocking on her door,
About 3:30 a.m., Harris wrote the message on a dry
erase board on her door and signed it, the statement
said:
“You deserve to be lynched. - Love, Karl”

52. Record and Policy Keeping

53. Brokers Should…
• Establish Written Policy
• Provide Policy to Agents
• Notify Residents of Policy
• Respond to complaints quickly

54. When Broker Receives Complaint
• Investigate and take prompt action
• Keep excellent records of all actions
• Discipline Offenders

55. The Cold Within
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In black and bitter cold
Each one possessed a stick of wood,
Or so the story’s told.
Their dying fire in need of logs,
The first woman held hers back
For on the faces ‘round the fire
She noticed one was black

56. The Cold Within
The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And couldn’t bring himself to give
The fire his stick of wood.
The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?

57. The Cold Within
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor
The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

58. The Cold Within
And the last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.
The logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn’t die from the cold without,
They died form the cold within.
Author unknown

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@mattrathbun
matthew@cbeva.com
YouTube.com/MattRathbun1
ThankYou