• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Fair Housing Project

A Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina

A Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina

Header Right

  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Home
  • News
  • Services
    • Education & Outreach
    • Legal Representation
    • Fair Housing Advocate Award Recipients
    • Become a Fair Housing Tester
  • Know Your Rights
    • Fair Housing Basics
      • Fair Housing Law Overview
      • Enforcement in North Carolina
      • Resources
      • Our Brochures
      • Our Videos
    • Know Your Rights
      • Race & Color
      • Religion
      • National Origin
      • Sex & Sexual Harassment
      • Familial Status
      • Disability
  • En Español
    • Discriminación en la Vivienda
    • Contacto
    • Publicaciones
  • Calendar
  • Links
    • All Links
    • Fair Housing Working Group
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us

Search Fair Housing Project

Get the Fair Housing Project's Newsletter

Just enter your email below and we'll keep you posted when we have new articles. We won't share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time. By submitting your e-mail address, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy (http://www.legalaidnc.org/privacy). We use MailChimp as our e-mail automation platform. By submitting your e-mail address, you also acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms (https://mailchimp.com/legal).


Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • News
  • Services
    • Education & Outreach
    • Legal Representation
    • Fair Housing Advocate Award Recipients
    • Become a Fair Housing Tester
  • Know Your Rights
    • Fair Housing Basics
      • Fair Housing Law Overview
      • Enforcement in North Carolina
      • Resources
      • Our Brochures
      • Our Videos
    • Know Your Rights
      • Race & Color
      • Religion
      • National Origin
      • Sex & Sexual Harassment
      • Familial Status
      • Disability
  • En Español
    • Discriminación en la Vivienda
    • Contacto
    • Publicaciones
  • Calendar
  • Links
    • All Links
    • Fair Housing Working Group
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Newsletter Articles / High Point Housing Authority Settles Discrimination Case; Compensates Tenant Rejected because of Criminal Arrests and Agrees to Adopt Fair Criminal History Policy for All Tenant Applicants

High Point Housing Authority Settles Discrimination Case; Compensates Tenant Rejected because of Criminal Arrests and Agrees to Adopt Fair Criminal History Policy for All Tenant Applicants

May 12, 2022by Lauren Brasil

Legal Aid of North Carolina recently settled a housing discrimination complaint against the High Point Housing Authority (HPHA), a public housing authority located in High Point, North Carolina. The complaint was filed with the NC Human Relations Commission (NCHRC) by a 55-year-old Black female whose application for a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher was improperly denied because of HPHA’s criminal history policy. The complaint alleged that HPHA, based on its criminal history policy, illegally rejected the Complainant’s Section 8 Voucher application in 2017, solely because of arrests that occurred in 1986 and 2011, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). HPHA denied the allegations and asserted that its actions were not in violation of the FHA. The NCHRC later issued a determination that reasonable grounds existed to believe that HPHA had discriminated against the applicant.

As a result of the conciliation agreement signed by the parties and approved by the NCHRC on February 11, 2022, HPHA paid the Complainant an undisclosed monetary amount; agreed to three (3) years of fair housing training of all decision-making HPHA employees in the Section 8 Voucher and public housing programs; and began the process of adopting and implementing a new criminal history policy, substantially based on 2015 and 2016 guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Jack Holtzman, Director of the Fair Housing Project, noted that overly broad policies that reject all applicants with a criminal history can violate fair housing laws, stating “High Point Housing Authority is to be commended for agreeing to adopt and implement a FHA-compliant criminal history policy, which will review applicants’ individual situations rather than automatically rejecting all Section 8 voucher and public housing applicants who have only been arrested.”

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.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More from this Newsletter Issue: Spring 2022

NFHA and Interagency Task Force Issue Action-Oriented Reports to Address Bias in Appraisals
HUD to Review Program Policies, Regulations, and Sub-Regulatory Documents to Eliminate Barriers that Unnecessarily Prevent Individuals with Criminal Histories from Participating in HUD Programs
Office of Inspector General Report: HUD did not have Adequate Policies and Procedures for Ensuring that Public Housing Agencies Properly Processed Tenant Reasonable Accommodation Requests 
Listen: Deep Dive: Fair Housing

Subscribe to the Newsletter
The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under a grant (FEOI210033) 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.

Tagged With: criminal background, race

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

More from this Newsletter Issue

Spring 2022

  • NFHA and Interagency Task Force Issue Action-Oriented Reports to Address Bias in Appraisals
  • HUD to Review Program Policies, Regulations, and Sub-Regulatory Documents to Eliminate Barriers that Unnecessarily Prevent Individuals with Criminal Histories from Participating in HUD Programs
  • Office of Inspector General Report: HUD did not have Adequate Policies and Procedures for Ensuring that Public Housing Agencies Properly Processed Tenant Reasonable Accommodation Requests 
  • Listen: Deep Dive: Fair Housing

Recent Newsletters

  • Newsletter – December 2022
  • Newsletter – Summer 2022
  • Newsletter – Spring 2022
  • Newsletter – Winter 2022
  • Newsletter – Summer 2021
  • Newsletter – Spring 2021
  • Newsletter – Winter 2021
  • Newsletter – Fall 2020
  • Newsletter – Summer 2020
  • Newsletter – Spring 2020
  • Contact Us

    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.

     

    Legal Aid of North Carolina offers many services, which you can learn about at their website.

    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.

    Copyright © 2023 Fair Housing Project, a project of Legal Aid North Carolina
    224 South Dawson Street, Raleigh, NC 27601 • 1-855-797-3247 • info@fairhousingnc.org
    Website by Tomatillo Design