FAIR HOUSING MONTH 2025

Celebrating Fair Housing, the Cornerstone of Equity in Housing Opportunity

The day begins at 8:30 AM with an interactive fair housing seminar accredited for continuing education: Fair Housing and Equity Focused Homeownership. This workshop will feature National Fair Housing Alliance staff: Vice President of Housing and Community Development, Shanti Abedin and Housing and Community Development Program Analyst, Andrea Lau. Other speakers are: Netta Whitman, Director of Housing Advisory Services for a Homeport, a non-profit housing developer based in Columbus, Ohio, and Anita Schmaltz, Director of the HomeOwnership Center, a program of County Corp located in Montgomery County, Ohio. A luncheon follows the morning activities with the Marie Kindrick Service Awards and a keynote speaker

Keynote by Monique Winston—Monique is a nationally renowned C- Suite Executive and Minority Business Advocate with 27+ years in the Title Insurance and Financial Services industry. Mrs. Winston focuses on the inclusion and development of women and minorities as business owners and homeowners. As the current President and CEO of MWINS Consulting, Mrs. Winston provides speaking, training, moderating, events and other services to real estate and financial services organizations. Monique is the President of the Ohio Realtist Association and the Immediate Past President of the Greater Cleveland Realtist Association. Both are divisions of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB).

Class Action Against Nation’s Largest Single-Family Rental Housing Provider, Progress Residential, Filed Over Discriminatory Rental Policies by FHCCI and Indianapolis Resident

INDIANAPOLIS, IN—The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) and Indianapolis, Indiana resident, Marckus Williams, have filed a class action complaint against Progress Residential, the nation’s largest single-family rental provider. This complaint alleges discriminatory practices perpetuated by Progress against Black renters through arbitrary criminal history policies. The lawsuit alleges that Progress enforces blanket bans on certain justice-involved applicants without assessing individual circumstances, disproportionately affecting Black applicants who are systematically overrepresented in criminal justice statistics.

Marckus Williams—an exemplar of personal redemption and community development—was denied housing by Progress due to outdated criminal records, including records that had been expunged, despite over a decade of serving his community. “Being unfairly barred from housing not only challenges my identity; it underscores a broader societal issue of systemic bias,” Mr. Williams asserts.

With a management portfolio exceeding 90,000 homes, Progress's alleged discriminatory practices are believed to have a widespread and detrimental impact on minority applicants across the company’s service area. The proportion of Black people disqualified by Progress’s blanket ban on renting to people with misdemeanor convictions between 2019 and 2021 is 4.44 times greater than the proportion of white people affected. For those with felony convictions between 2012 and 2021, the disparities are even greater, as the proportion of Black applicants disqualified is 8.16 times greater than the proportion of white people disqualified.

The complaint details how there are pervasive racial disparities at every juncture of the criminal justice system in this country, including the areas where Progress operates. Black individuals are more likely than their white counterparts to be stopped, arrested, convicted, and incarcerated. By automatically excluding applicants with certain kinds of justice-involvement, Progress’s policy disproportionately excludes Black applicants from the company’s thousands of rental units.

“These actions by Progress are not merely against the law—they are ethically unconscionable and perpetuate systemic disadvantage,” remarked Amy Nelson, FHCCI’s Executive Director.

This class action signifies an urgent call to amend the entrenched policies of this housing provider giant, safeguarding the civil rights of Black rental applicants who have been unlawfully denied residency. Valerie Comenencia Ortiz, an attorney at Relman Colfax, emphasized, “This complaint seeks to dismantle barriers and uphold rightful housing opportunities for victims of racial discrimination.”

If you believe you have experienced similar discrimination involving this company, please contact us here. Your voice matters, and by coming forward, you can help ensure justice is served and prevent future harm.

A copy of the filed complaint can be found on the FHCCI’s News Page or Enforcement Page.

The FHCCI and Mr. Williams are represented by Lila Miller, Valerie Comenencia Ortiz, Ellora Israni, Esmeralda Hermosillo, and Jake Hogan of Relman Colfax and Russell Cate and Matthew Keyes of RileyCate.

The Miami Valley Fair Housing Center files federal lawsuit alleging disability
discrimination at Canterbury Court in West Carrollton, Ohio

Download the complaint!

DAYTON, OHIO—On April 19, 2024, the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center (MVFHC) filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Canterbury Court Limited Partnership and Episcopal Retirement Services. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the lawsuit alleges that Canterbury Court and Episcopal Retirement Services failed to grant reasonable accommodations and modifications for residents with disabilities.

The federal lawsuit stems from an investigation that the Fair Housing Center began in December 2022 after receiving complaints about Canterbury Court. The Fair Housing Act allows organizations like MVFHC to sue when they discover housing discrimination. Jacob Davis of Nalls Davis, a Dayton-based law firm specializing in civil rights litigation, is representing the Fair Housing Center.

The lawsuit alleges Canterbury Court has overly restrictive policies that present barriers to disabled residents who need reasonable accommodations and/or modifications to use and enjoy their units fully. Such accommodations and modifications include installing shower grab bars, shower doors, and automatic door openers and transferring disabled residents to more accessible units.

“Congress amended the Fair Housing Act in 1988 to include people with Disabilities as a protected class. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have issued Joint Statements on Reasonable Accommodations and Reasonable Modifications Under the Fair Housing Act. The documents are easy to read and understand and provide specific example scenarios wherein a disabled resident may need to request an accommodation,” said Jim McCarthy, President/CEO of the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center.

“The Fair Housing Center is disappointed that 36 years after the Act was amended to include people with disabilities, there are still housing providers who are unwilling to do what the law requires,” McCarthy continued.

The complaint alleges that Canterbury Court and Episcopal Retirement Services routinely denied or delayed responding to requests for nearly a year. It also alleges that Defendants pressured residents to drop certain requests or accept less desirable alternatives. The complaint also alleges that Canterbury Court and Episcopal Retirement Services require overly complex disability verification forms even when no such form is required under the Fair Housing Act. The complaint further alleges that MVFHC has been directly and substantially injured by the violations through a diversion of its resources and frustration of its mission.

Canterbury Court and Episcopal Retirement Services are based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and advertise the West Carrollton apartment complex as a senior, HUD-sponsored community. Miami Valley Fair Housing Center is seeking monetary, injunctive, and declaratory relief for the alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act.

Previous news items are available here.