According to Maya Angelou, "The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."
For National Fair Housing Month, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) joins Ohio and the federal government in educating local governments, community leaders, real estate professionals, and housing associations on fair housing laws and policies to reduce the number of incidents of housing discrimination and fair housing law violations.
April 11 marked the 57th anniversary of the U.S. Congress passing Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, which strengthened national fair housing policies. Twenty years later, the federal government passed the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988.
In addition, Ohio law provides fair and equal housing opportunities statewide regardless of race or color, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), nationality/national origin, ancestry, religion, military service, family status, or disability.
The Columbus Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) enforces Ohio fair housing laws by investigating housing discrimination complaints under the federal Fair Housing Act and other civil rights complaints related to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-funded programs. Anyone wanting to file a complaint should visit hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint.
The Ohio Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing oversees the licensing and regulation of real estate professionals, who are required to study fair housing laws to receive and maintain their licenses throughout their careers.
At OHFA, we offer free fair housing trainings with continuing education units (CEUs) to real estate professionals throughout Ohio. Whether instructed in person or virtually, Fair Housing Foundations — worth three hours of civil rights credit — is a course that takes a historical view at fair housing and civil rights. The training also goes into the details of current housing, advertising, and lending laws. Single Family Relations Program Manager Jon Duy, the instructor, uses case studies, housing statistics, videos, and pictures to present the information in a memorable format. Real estate professionals interested in taking the course should visit ohiohome.org/partners/realtors to learn more.
In conjunction with state and federal governments, OHFA encourages local authorities to intensify their efforts to further the purpose of fair housing legislation.
