Fair Housing Facts:

According to the National Fair Housing Alliance:

• The number of actual cases is much higher than the number reported. Most people don’t report racial, ethnic or religious housing discrimination. NFHA estimates that more than 4 million cases of housing discrimination occur each year.
• Housing discrimination most impacts renters. More than 90% of all housing discrimination occurred during rental transactions, even though renters are often in greater need of affordable housing than homeowners.
• Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Salt Lake County. A survey of mortgage denials and approvals compared between racial and ethnic populations in Salt Lake County, showed that the mortgage application denial rate for Hispanics (20%) in Salt Lake County is higher than that of non-Hispanics (13%) (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act).

The Disability Law Center has publicized their own findings on discrimination within Salt Lake City. The Center has uncovered verified cases of rental housing discrimination directed toward protected classes in SLC. To verify their findings, the Center conducted tests with matched pairs of individuals, couples or families. Testers were matched on rental eligibility characteristics so that the only significant difference between them is the factor being tested. According to their findings:

• The most common rental housing discrimination in Salt Lake City are primarily based on disability status, national origin, and race.
• Data collected from 2013 to 2018 showed 97 cases of confirmed disparate treatment and signs of disparate treatment, regarding housing discrimination in Salt Lake City. During this period there were a total of 1,078 reports of people who felt they had been discriminated against. Of those, 456 total required short-term assistance.
• On average, approximately 300 calls a year to the Disability Law Center originate from Salt Lake City residents.

History of the Fair Housing Act

The Fair Housing Act was passed by Congress in 1968, 3 days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The bill was passed due to the tireless efforts of Dr. King to ensure people were able to be protected in housing. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings based on

The 1988 Fair Housing Amendments Act expanded coverage to prohibit discrimination based on disability or familial status (presence of child under age of 18 and pregnant women) and established new enforcement mechanisms for HUD and the Department of Justice.  Utah based protections for Utah renters and homeowners, include source of income (such as Social Security, or other forms of payments).

Salt Lake City led the way to further protect individuals from housing discrimination, by enacted the Fair Housing Policy of 2009, to include: sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, of which Salt Lake County and the State of Utah later enacted.

Fair Housing Month April 2023 – ARCHIVE

The following was publicized by Salt Lake City for the Fair Housing Month 2023.

On Thursday, April 20, 2023, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall marked the 55th anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act by proclaiming April Fair Housing Month in Salt Lake City. The text of this proclamation is as follows:

WHEREAS, April marks the 55th anniversary of the passage of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, commonly known as the Federal Fair Housing Act, which seeks to eliminate discrimination in housing opportunities and to affirmatively further housing choices for all Americans; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has declared April to be “Fair Housing Month,” with the theme of “Choices for All Voices: Building an Equitable Future”; and

WHEREAS, Salt Lake City welcomes this opportunity join the Federal Government and state and local jurisdictions across America in this celebration of the rich diversity of our people and the right of all citizens to live where they choose without fear of discrimination, regardless of: race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origins; and

WHEREAS, Salt Lake City upholds and works to expand housing rights through the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, the City’s Americans With Disabilities Committee, the Community and Neighborhoods Department, the SLC Redevelopment Agency, and all other City housing entities; and

WHEREAS, as an Entitlement Municipality that receives HUD funding, Salt Lake City is held to high levels of accountability when it comes to the tracking of equity in HUD programs administered by the City. Additionally, Salt Lake City has conducted a Fair Housing Equity Assessment and Analysis of Impediments that informs the City’s HUD-funded plans, projects, and activities; and

WHEREAS, Salt Lake City implemented in 2017, Growing SLC: A Five Year Housing Plan, with the guiding principle to create an equitable city by ensuring access to all city amenities for all citizens while treating everyone equitably with fairness, justice, and respect, and as, Salt Lake City is working to complete a new five-year housing plan, Housing SLC, which will seek to promote a city where housing is ample and affordable, tenants are protected, and historic patterns of segregation and discrimination are reversed through goals to increase affordable housing, improve tenant resources, and expand ownership opportunities throughout the city.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Erin Mendenhall, Mayor of Salt Lake City, in my commitment to geographic equity, inclusion and belonging, do hereby proclaim April 2023, as:

FAIR HOUSING MONTH in Salt Lake City

Fair Housing Month April 2022 – ARCHIVE

The following was publicized by Salt Lake City for the Fair Housing Month 2022.

Every April Salt Lake City reaffirms our devotion to the Fair Housing Act. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and community partners marked the 54th anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act on Wednesday and highlighted the need for accessible accommodations in housing and business. This included a 2022 Fair Housing Proclamation, which you can read here.

Mayor Mendenhall commemorated Fair Housing Month at Valor House, which serves low income veterans with disabilities, with community partners Community partners joined the Mayor outside Valor House, a supportive housing facility operated by First Step House in partnership with the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City. You can view a recording of the event below.

You can also view a recording of our Fair Housing Webinar – Ask Me Anything below, featuring experts Vard McGuire from the Disability Law Center, Sam Ball from Assist, Chris Vogel from HUD, and Karen Cluff from First Step House. The webinar was hosted by Salt Lake City ADA coordinator Ashley Lichtle.

In addition to Fair Housing, this year the City is also recognizing the importance of protections for housing inclusiveness a part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

To make the protections in the ADA come to fruition, “it takes individuals telling their stories, advocates helping them share their experiences with policymakers, and policymakers working with business owners and builders to realize their vision of an affordable, physically accessible, and inclusive community,” said Andrew Riggle, Public Policy Advocate for the Disability Law Center.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enforces fair housing laws and annually provides Salt Lake City with an average of $5.5 million dollars in new funding to support programs and projects that address housing needs and support community development that uplift and change the lives of residents.

April 2021 Fair Housing Month – ARCHIVE

The following was publicized by Salt Lake City for the Fair Housing Month 2022.

On Thursday, April 8, 2021, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall marked the 53rd anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act by proclaiming April Fair Housing Month in Salt Lake City. The landmark legislation —  Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 — prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and family status.  

“This funding, and these protections are critical to ensuring the rights of Salt Lake City residents.. I’m grateful for landlords, realtors, lenders and insurers who take housing rights seriously. And I’m grateful for the valuable efforts of organizations like the YWCA, which provide vulnerable populations, including survivors of domestic violence, a path to long-term housing,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “While housing protection laws have been around for the better part of a century, Salt Lake City is not free from the realities of housing discrimination. If residents believe they’ve experienced housing discrimination, there is recourse and I encourage you to reach out to the organizations and agencies that can help.”  

You can view a full recording of the event below.

The Housing Stability Division, in partnership with the Disability Law Center, YWCA, and South Valley Services, hosted a panel discussion and Q&A discussing Fair Housing month. Among the topics discussed was the coincidence of Fair Housing Month with the national Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the ways that legislation domestic violence protections for women. You can watch a recording of this session below.