A sting operation discovered that actual property professionals typically declined to lease Chicago-area properties to investigators posing as low-income households, a watchdog group introduced Monday.
The Housing Rights Initiative filed a slew of complaints with the Illinois Division of Human Rights, claiming that actual property brokers, brokerage companies and landlords discriminated towards potential renters who sought to make use of vouchers supplied by way of the federal rental help program often called Part 8.
A gaggle of investigators went undercover final yr as potential tenants, contacting lots of of brokers and landlords by textual content message to find out whether or not they had been complying with the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination towards folks with housing vouchers.
The group discovered that voucher holders had been explicitly discriminated towards about 36% of the time, in line with a press release issued by the Housing Rights Initiative. A variety of actual property heavyweights had been among the many companies that allegedly broke the legislation.
The Housing Rights Initiative — which focuses on focusing on, investigating and combating fraudulent actual property practices — stated the complaints quantity to the “largest housing discrimination case in Illinois historical past.”
“Let this historic submitting ship an essential message to each actual property participant: regardless of how empowered you are feeling over the subsequent 4 years, you’ll be held accountable to the legislation. Break the legislation and it’ll not be a query of whether or not you get caught, however when,” Aaron Carr, the group’s founder and govt director, stated within the assertion.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2022, making it unlawful for landlords, brokers and brokers to discriminate towards housing candidates trying to make use of Part 8 or incapacity vouchers to assist pay their lease.
Peter Romer-Friedman, founding father of one of many legislation companies that filed the complaints, stated the measure was drafted to “fill the hole” of the Honest Housing Act, a federal legislation that doesn’t shield towards so-called supply of earnings discrimination. He stated a few of the complaints could possibly be dropped at court docket.
“Our federal housing packages merely can’t work if landlords refuse to take these vouchers that will ordinarily allow thousands and thousands of individuals to get high quality, inexpensive housing,” Romer-Friedman stated.
Although he lauded the state legislation as a “needed step that must be taken in in each neighborhood,” Romer-Friedman additionally emphasised the significance of imposing it.
“If it’s not being enforced — and landlords, brokers and actual property firms really feel like they will ignore it — what good is the legislation?” he stated.
