Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in the District of Columbia 2005 D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) 801 North Capitol Street NE Washington, DC 20002 Jalal Greene, Director Anthony A. Williams, Mayor Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in the District of Columbia Copyright © 2005 Peter A. Tatian Kenneth Temkin Barika Williams Prepared for District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) The Urban Institute Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center 2100 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, or to their trustees or funders. Acknowledgements Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge several persons who contributed to the completion of this report. We first would like to thank the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), in particular DHCD’s Fair Housing Program Coordinator, Sonia P. Gutierrez, for selecting us to prepare this report and for providing essential guidance in completing our analysis. In addition, we would like to acknowledge Isabelle Thabault and her colleagues Eliza Platts- Mills, Robert Bruskin, Don Kahl, Jennifer Miletic, and Ali Yannias of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for their invaluable contribution in researching and compiling the descriptions of fair housing cases and complaints filed with the courts and the D.C. Commission on Human Rights included in this report. We wish to recognize our colleagues John H. McKoy and James Gibson for their help in convening the key informants who participated in our roundtable discussion and Margery Austin Turner, Carla Herbig, and John H. McKoy for reviewing and commenting on an earlier version of this report. We wish to thank all of the roundtable and interview participants (who are listed individually in attachment D) for giving generously of their time and sharing their opinions and experiences regarding fair housing in the District of Columbia. Finally, we thank Diane Hendricks of the Urban Institute for her expert work in formatting the final version of this document. The authors take full responsibility for the content of this report, as well as any errors or omissions therein. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO ................................................................................. I FAIR HOUSING CHOICE IN THE.................................................................................... I DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA .............................................................................................. I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ I INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 Overview of Methods 3 Progress Since Previous Analysis of Impediments 4 Summary of Findings—Impediments and Recommended Actions 4 IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE ............................................................. 13 AND RECOMMENDED ACTIONS................................................................................ 13 Recommendations for Improving the Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws 14 Recommendations for Increasing Knowledge of Fair Housing Laws 20 Recommendations for Increasing Affordable Housing Opportunities 25 Recommendations for Increasing Knowledge of Housing Options Throughout the City 27 Recommendations for Improving Creditworthiness and Financial/Homebuyer Literacy 31 Monitoring Progress 33 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................. 37 ENDNOTES .................................................................................................................. 41 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in the District of Columbia ATTACHMENT A: BACKGROUND DATA ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ATTACHMENT B: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA’S CURRENT FAIR HOUSING PROFILE ATTACHMENT C: LIST OF ROUNDTABLE/INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS ATTACHMENT D: ROUNDTABLE INTRODUCTIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS ATTACHMENT E: SUMMARIES OF FAIR HOUSING COURT CASES AND COMPLAINTS FILED WITH THE D.C. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ATTACHMENT F: SUPPLEMENTAL DATA TABLES Introduction 1 section 1 INTRODUCTION he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a longstanding commitment to eliminate racial and ethnic segregation and other discriminatory practices T in the provision of housing. As stated on the HUD web site: It is HUD's mission to promote nondiscrimination and ensure fair and equal housing opportunities for all. In an ongoing effort to provide services and activities on a nondiscriminatory manner and to affirmatively further fair housing, HUD is charged by law to implement and enforce a wide array of civil rights laws, not only for members of the public in search of fair housing, but for HUD funded grant recipients as well.1 HUD extends the responsibility of and Community Development (DHCD) affirmatively furthering fair housing to local shares HUD’s commitment to promoting fair jurisdictions through a variety of regulations housing choice for all residents of and program requirements. For example, Washington, D.C. In partial fulfillment of its HUD requires all local jurisdictions responsibilities to HUD and to the citizens of participating in the Community Development the District of Columbia, DHCD contracted Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment with the Urban Institute of Washington, Partnerships (HOME), Emergency Shelter D.C., to prepare an updated analysis of Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for impediments report for the District of Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) formula Columbia. programs to complete an annual Consolidated Plan, which establishes a This report, Analysis of Impediments to Fair “unified vision for community development Housing Choice in the District of Columbia, actions.”2 As part of the consolidated plan is the result of that effort. According to the process, jurisdictions are required to HUD Fair Housing Planning Guide, an complete an analysis of impediments to fair analysis of impediments should include: housing choice (“analysis of impediments”) • a comprehensive review of a report and to take actions to overcome the jurisdiction’s laws, regulations, and effects of any impediments identified administrative policies, procedures, and through that analysis. practices; In addition to being the local government entity responsible for implementing HUD’s • an assessment of how those laws, consolidated planning requirement, the regulations, and administrative policies, District of Columbia Department of Housing procedures, and practices affect the 2 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in the District of Columbia location, availability, and accessibility of distinguish between those actions that may housing; and be viewed strictly as violations of fair housing laws and those that may have a fair • an assessment of the conditions, both housing impact but are not necessarily public and private, affecting fair housing illegal.4 choice. We recognize that the District of Columbia’s The Fair Housing Planning Guide further housing market is integrated into the larger states that the goal of the analysis of metropolitan area. As such, housing choice impediments is to identify impediments to is not only affected by real estate market fair housing choice in the public and private participants in the city, but also by sector. The Guide defines impediments to participants who are active in nearby fair housing choice as jurisdictions. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis would analyze the range of • any actions, omissions, or decisions impediments throughout the area. While this taken because of race, color, religion, analysis is restricted to highlighting sex, disability, familial status, or national impediments in the District of Columbia and origin which restrict housing choices or making recommendations for those the availability of housing choices; and impediments, it is very likely that these recommendations would be more effective if • any actions, omissions, or decisions they were implemented in coordination with which have the effect of restricting nearby local jurisdictions in Virginia and housing choices or the availability of Maryland. housing choices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial The next two sections provide an overview 3 status, or national origin. of the methods we used to prepare this analysis of impediments and a summary of It is important to note that HUD does not the key findings and recommendations. The restrict the scope of the analysis of findings and recommendations are impediments to only those actions that are discussed in detail in the rest of this report. in direct violation of fair housing laws, but Background and supporting materials can rather to any actions, omissions, or be found in the attachments to the main decisions that may have an ultimate effect report. of restricting housing choice. Consequently, we have taken an appropriately broad view of the issues that impact fair housing choice in this analysis of impediments. To be clear, however, we will throughout this report Introduction 3 Overview of Methods developers, lenders, realtors, community- based organizations,