Summer 2018 Newsletter

Center Files Federal Lawsuit Against National Tenant Screening Company

Arroyo v. CoreLogic seeks to establish precedent that screening companies must comply with Fair Housing Act

The Connecticut Fair Housing Center and the National Housing Law Project have filed a new lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut contending that tenant screening company CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions violates the Fair Housing Act by disproportionately disqualifying African-American and Latino applicants from securing housing based on discriminatory use of criminal records as rental criteria.

The lawsuit, which may be the first of its kind, asserts that CoreLogic unlawfully instructed a landlord to deny a Connecticut mother’s request to move her disabled son into her apartment due to a dismissed shoplifting arrest from 2014. As a result, her son, whose disability left him unable to speak, walk, or care for himself, remained in a nursing home for a year longer than was necessary.

Although rental decisions have traditionally been made by housing providers, today many landlords contract with third-party tenant-screeners to make admission decisions for them. This litigation seeks to ensure that CoreLogic and all tenant-screening companies who functionally make rental decisions on behalf of landlords make those decisions in accordance with fair housing requirements.

Learn more about the CoreLogic case.

From the Director's Desk: The Fight for Fair Housing Goes On

by Erin Kemple, Executive Director

Earlier this year, the Center joined fair housing advocates across the country in marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. Unfortunately, what should have been a year of celebrating progress has turned into a year of fighting to protect central provisions of this landmark civil rights law. It is no exaggeration to say that fair housing is under attack in 2018.

Read more of Erin's take on the current challenges facing fair housing advocates - and how you can join the fight.

Center Conducting Outreach to Protect the Rights of Displaced Tenants

The Center has been working with tenants displaced from three subsidized housing complexes in New London (pictured), Hartford , and Darien to ensure th eir fair housing rights are protected as they seek new homes.

In Hartford and New London, poor conditions resulting from years of neglect forced the complexes to close. The tenants, mostly people of color, were given housing choice vouchers to use in the private rental market. In theory, the vouchers should provide families with the option to move to better-resourced neighborhoods if they choose. In reality, affordable units outside of high-poverty neighborhoods are limited, and discrimination against voucher holders remains prevalent despite being illegal in CT (in fact, it's one of the most common complaints we receive at the Center).

We've been monitoring the administration of the vouchers to ensure compliance with the law and working with the tenants and other community partners to educate them about their fair housing rights, distribute our Moving Forward Guide , and ensure they know how to report discrimination if it happens to them.

Discrimination because of source of income (such as refusal to accept a voucher) is illegal in CT. Report it to the Center here.

Celebrating a New Chapter

In June, the Center hosted an Open House to celebrate our move to our new building at 60 Popieluszko Court, Hartford. Nearly 50 people joined us to tour the new space, learn more about our work, and explore the 100-year fair housing history timeline display on our first floor. (Oh, and there was BBQ!) Thank you to all our friends and colleagues, old and new, who stopped by.