If you were robbed, would you report it? Of course. But if you are robbed of your civil rights, who do you call? Fair Housing is a civil right. It is a right protected by federal and state laws.

Fair Housing means you may freely choose a place to live without regard to your race, color, religion, sex, national origin or because you are disabled or have children in your family. Housing discrimination is illegal. Fair Housing not only applies to rental housing but to purchasing a home, obtaining a mortgage and homeowner's insurance.

The month of April every year is Fair Housing Month. This year, April 11^th was the 35^th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. The Act was signed one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Ideally, all our Fair Housing problems should have been solved in 35 years. But, unfortunately, there are still landlords, bankers, real estate agents, and insurance companies who haven't gotten the message yet.

How do you recognize housing discrimination? Well, if a landlord says to you, "Sure, we rent to families with kids, but we need an extra security deposit", that's a clue you should suspect housing discrimination is going on. It's illegal to charge extra for kids. Likewise, if you are disabled and need a guide dog or a personal assistance dog, you can't be denied housing because of the "no pets" rule. A handicapped person is entitled also to "reasonable accommodation", meaning that if there is a need for wider doors or grab bars in the tub, the landlord must give you permission to make those changes. The landlord doesn't have to pay for the changes, but you can't be denied permission to make the changes.

If you are denied homeowner's insurance because your house is "too old" or any other lame excuse, you should suspect discrimination. Several well-known national insurance companies have been taken to court and have lost big time on this issue. Fair housing is fair housing and you should have the right to buy a house anywhere you want and insure it for a reasonable price.

Housing discrimination is sophisticated and subtle nowadays. Most people in a position to discriminate have learned less blatant ways to do it in the 35 years since the legislation was enacted. But it still happens. And there are "testers" employed by HUD (the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development), who work in communities all over the country. "Testers" are people posing as potential tenants or homebuyers. They are like the Secret Agents of HUD. They try to ferret out housing discrimination, especially when they have been given a name of someone suspected of practicing discrimination.

The City of Alliance does not have a Fair Housing department, but instead contracts with Stark County's Fair Housing Department. Their phone number is 330-451-7775. It's a local call. Valerie Watson is the Fair Housing Officer. We also have some brochures in the Mayor's office which describe the rights of both landlords and tenants. You can also file a Fair Housing complaint online. Just go to www.hud.gov and follow the links to the Fair Housing page. There are instructions for filing a complaint on that page. If you have other questions, you can call the Mayor's office at 330-821-3110.