The mission of the Fair Housing Law Project is to ensure that all people may freely choose a place to live without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, ancestry, sexual preference, marital status, source of income, operation of a licensed daycare, disability, or whether they have children in their family.

What is housing discrimination?
A landlord, manager, home seller, real estate agent, or manager may not discriminate on the basis of:

• Race or national origin
• Religion
• Disability
• Familial status (having kids)
• Sex
• Marital status
• Sexual orientation
• Age
• Source of income (though discrimination based on amount of income is permitted)
• Operating a licensed home day care
• Other arbitrary characteristics not related to rental or sale qualifications

Discrimination can include refusing to rent or sell, offering different terms (such as a higher rent), asking questions or making statements about the categories listed above, evicting or harassing a resident, or steering people to certain areas of the housing complex or certain neighborhoods.

Our History
The Fair Housing Law Project (FHLP) was founded in 1998 as a program of the Law Foundation in response to the need for increased enforcement of fair housing laws in the City of San José.

Despite the existence of strong fair housing laws, discrimination still plays a role in determining if a person finds and keeps housing. To address this need, the City of San José has provided Community Development Block Grant funding to three agencies that are members of the San José Fair Housing Consortium: Project Sentinel, Asian Law Alliance, and FHLP. These three agencies have formed a comprehensive continuum of expert fair housing services to prevent housing discrimination in San José and to take action when it occurs. More recent funding has allowed FHLP to expand its services to cover all of Santa Clara County.

A recent outside audit of fair housing services in Santa Clara County called FHLP's work "innovative" and "extraordinarily successful."

Success Stories

Spanish Language Loan Documents
FHLP, with sister program Public Interest Law Firm, filed a lending discrimination case against brokers, realtors, and lenders targeting monolingual Spanish-speakers for predatory loans. Defendants brought a motion to dismiss, which was denied in a written opinion by federal Magistrate Judge Seeborg. In this opinion, the Court upheld Plaintiffs' discrimination claims under Section 3604 and 3605 of the Fair Housing Act and under Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The Court also upheld Plaintiffs' California Civil Code § 1632 claim requiring that contracts negotiated in Spanish be written in Spanish. Despite Defendants' arguments to the contrary, the opinion found that this statute could cover mortgage brokers and lenders.

Suit To Prevent HIV-Discrimination in Nursing Home Settles
An elderly woman with liver disease and asymptomatic HIV sought housing in a skilled nursing facility. She was turned down because of her HIV-status, even though she was not seeking care for her HIV. The discrimination was confirmed through paired testing. FHLP, along with co-counsel AIDS Legal Services, filed suit on behalf of the woman's estate in federal court. The case resolved through a settlement conference whereby the facility will receive fair housing and HIV sensitivity training and will pay $35,000. C04-3485.

Case of Retaliation and Disability Discrimination Resolves One Week Before Trial
A family moved into a house and started to smell mold. A test kit confirmed the presence of mold. Since their two daughters have severe growth disabilities and respiratory conditions (one needs oxygen continuously), they asked their landlord to investigate it. Instead of fixing the mold, the landlord gave the family an eviction notice to move out by New Year's Eve. FHLP filed suit on behalf of the family in state court. Four days before a scheduled jury trial, the case settled with the landlord agreeing to fair housing training and a payment of $45,000. 1-03-CV-008986.

FEHC Hearing for Marital Status Discrimination Settles
An unmarried couple and their children contacted a landlord about renting a duplex. The landlord asked whether they were married and then told them that his wife did not like to rent to unmarried couples. FHLP filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) for marital status discrimination. After investigation, DFEH found there was probable cause that discrimination occurred and the case headed toward trial at the Fair Employment and Housing Commission. Shortly before the trial date, the case settled with the landlord agreeing to fair housing training, distribution of fair housing brochures to all applicants, shielding the landlord's wife from contact with applicants, a nondiscrimination policy, and payment of $22,000. H200203-Q-0238/243/244-00.

Disabled Man's Claim for Retaliation and Failure to Accommodate Leads to Community Education
A man almost lost a leg in an accident and was undergoing a tenuous nerve graft. His landlord decided to fumigate for termites using Vikane, a neurotoxic chemical that could have impaired his nerve graft. He asked the landlord to use a nonchemical alternative treatment (heat), but the landlord failed to do so and evicted him instead. FHLP filed suit in federal court, with the assistance of co-counsel from Dechert LLP. The case resolved after Early Neutral Evaluation and mediation for a total of $15,000, half of which will be donated to nonprofit organizations to increase community education about disability discrimination and alternatives to chemical fumigation. C04-1273

Click HERE to read more success stories.

What's New at FHLP?

FHLP in the News
Publicity can make a big difference in moving our clients' cases forward. On February 9, 2005, local television station ABC7 aired a news segment about a case FHLP was filing. The case arose from G&K Management's failure to transfer disabled people to accessible units when necessary because of their disabilities. The news report focused on Jack and Stella Syvertsen, a couple in their eighties, one of whom is blind and the other has a mobility impairment, who live in a second-floor apartment without an elevator. At the time, they had been waiting for more than 10 months to be transferred to a first-floor apartment. The day after the newscast, the Syvertsens were offered their choice of two available first-floor units! The suit is continuing to change G&K's policy and to compensate the Syverstens for having to wait so long. ABC7 did a follow-up report on February 28, 2005, when the Syvertsens finally moved into an accessible unit. FHLP attorneys Kerstin Arusha and Whitney Huston were interviewed for these reports.

Fair Housing Month
April is National Fair Housing Month. In honor of our fair housing accomplishments, on April 5, 2005, the City of San José gave FHLP and Project Sentinel a proclamation recognizing Fair Housing Month. FHLP was also interviewed for a cable TV show educating the public about fair housing. The piece will air periodically through April in recognition of Fair Housing Month, available at the following weblink:
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/civiccentertv/

New Faces
FHLP has some exciting new personnel developments.

• Whitney Huston began working for FHLP 40% of her time in September 2004. Ms. Huston graduated from Hastings School of Law last year and has worked for Disability Rights Advocates and several other legal services agencies.
• Moses Diaz joined FHLP as a staff attorney in October 2004. Mr. Diaz had almost two years litigation experience and is Spanish-speaking. He will be coordinating our predatory lending project.
• FHLP is also lucky to have the services of staff attorney Kim Pederson on a contract basis. She will be working approximately half time at least until August 2005.

Recent Legislative Changes
Several important tenant protections were scheduled to end on January 1, 2005. Luckily, the legislature made these laws permanent. The protection against discrimination based on a person's source of income (e.g. public assistance, child support, self-employment) is now a permanent part of California's Fair Employment and Housing Act. Likewise, landlords must continue to give tenants who have lived there one year or more at least 60 days notice to terminate their tenancy.