RENTERS! BEWARE OF DISCRIMINATION

The Student Legal Service and the Tenant Union have received a number of complaints over the years regarding housing discrimination.
Unfortunately, many times students do not fully realize that local, state and federal Fair Housing laws apply to all persons, including student renters.

• We have had landlords refuse to rent to Indian and Pakistani students because, "The cooking odors ruin my property values."
• International students have been told by the landlords, "What do you think I'm running here, a f---ing mosque?"
• We have seen landlords who don't have property available for rent when Jewish or black students request a rental application on a given day, but lo and behold, there are six units available the next day for white, gentile tenants.
• Students from the Far East frequently encounter subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle refusals to rent by campus-area landlords.
• I have personally had landlords say to me, "I will never rent to those kind of people again." You may fill in the blank with any racial, religious or ethnic minority you wish as to who "those" people are.

We have several local landlords who practice a seemingly benign form of racial and ethnic steering.

• Minority tenants are all concentrated into specific buildings the landlord manages.
• The landlord achieves a form of racial/ethnic segregation in the property he or she leases.
• The usual excuse is, "Chinese, African-American, etc., students want to be with their own kind."
• Some landlords will steadfastly maintain this is true despite the fact that the student tenant wants to be close to the engineering campus and property is available nearby.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 proscribes discrimination in the sale or rental of housing in both the public and private markets. As of March 12, 1989, the Act prohibits discrimination because of or "on account of": race, color, national origin, sex, religion, handicap or familial status (children, including "any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years).

Steering by race to specified buildings or locations is unlawful as is false representation of leasehold availability, which is a fairly common local practice.

In addition, local ordinance prohibits rental discrimination based upon

• sexual preference,
• welfare status (public-aid recipient) and
• student status.

Refusing to rent to interracial roommates or married persons is thankfully becoming less common in this community.

As tenants and prospective tenants you have the legal right to select housing within your economic means. The landlord does not have the right to deny you this choice based on racial, ethnic, religious, etc., criteria.

If you feel that you have suffered from unlawful discrimination, the law provides you with a remedy to seek money damages and a court or administrative order compelling the landlord to end the discriminatory practice.

The Student Legal Service and the Tenant Union are prepared to assist you if you have been a victim of housing discrimination. Discrimination complaints can also be filed with

Urbana Human Relations Commission
400 S. Vine
Urbana, Illinois
(217)384-246

Champaign Community Relations
102 N. Neil
Champaign, Illinois
(217)351-4425

and

Illinois Department of Community Relations
Municipal Center East
800 E. Monroe, Room 108
Springfield, Illinois, 62701
(217)789-2272.