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You are here: Home / News / Housing complex settles discrimination case, adopts fair criminal history policy for tenant applicants

Housing complex settles discrimination case, adopts fair criminal history policy for tenant applicants

March 29, 2021by Jeff Dillman

RALEIGH, March 29, 2021 – Legal Aid of North Carolina announced today that it has settled a housing discrimination complaint against Cypress Grove Apartments, a multifamily housing complex located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project filed the complaint on behalf of a 64-year-old tenant whose rental application was improperly denied because of Cypress Grove’s criminal history policy. The complaint alleged that Cypress Grove, based on its criminal history policy, illegally rejected the tenant’s rental application because of a 34-year-old felony assault conviction, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). Cypress Grove denied the allegations and asserted that its actions were not in violation of the FHA.

As a result of the conciliation agreement signed by the parties and approved by the North Carolina Human Relations Commission on November 12, 2020, Cypress Grove has adopted and implemented a new criminal history policy, substantially based on 2016 guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Jeffrey Dillman, co-director of the Fair Housing Project, noted that policies that reject all applicants with a criminal history can violate fair housing laws, stating “Cypress Grove Apartments is to be commended for adopting its new criminal history policy, which will review applicants’ individual situations rather than automatically rejecting all applicants with a criminal history.”

Legal Aid of North Carolina’s involvement in this litigation was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

# # #

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. To learn more, visit www.legalaidnc.org and www.fairhousingnc.org.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported in part by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal Government.

Media Contacts
Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Click here to read HUD’s guidance on criminal background screening and fair housing.

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Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: criminal background, fair housing act, race

Previous Post: « HUD Publishes 2021 Civil Penalty Amounts for Fair Housing Violations
Next Post: Fair Housing Webinar in Spanish – Taller en Español Sobre Discriminación en las Viviendas »

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    Fair Housing Project
    P.O. Box 26087
    Raleigh, NC 27611-6087
    1-855-797-3247
    info@fairhousingnc.org

    Our Mission

    The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement.

     

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    Disclaimer

    The materials contained on this website are for information and education purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Legal Aid of North Carolina does not provide legal assistance by email. Contact the Fair Housing Project or a private attorney if you need to speak with an attorney regarding your particular situation. View our complete disclaimer.

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