Category Archives: Latest News

Housing Center Named Community Shares’ Member Organization of the Year

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The Housing Research & Advocacy Center was awarded the Community Shares Member Organization of the Year Social Justice Award at the Community Shares Power Lunch and Annual Meeting on June 28, 2011. Patricia Burgess, President of the Board of Directors, and Hilary Mason King, Executive Director, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. The organization was recognized by its’ peers for its’ social justice work to promote fair housing and diverse communities, and to work to eliminate housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio, by providing effective research, education and advocacy. Under the principled leadership of our former Executive Director, Jeff Dillman, our team – Hilary King, Carrie Pleasants, Darlene English, Krissie Wells, Zachary Crafton, Denise Cooper and Irving Graves worked with the support of the Board of Directors over the last year to achieve these accomplishments: • Hosted an accessibility (design & construction) seminar featuring national fair housing expert Sara Pratt, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs, to educate local government building code officials in addition to hosting numerous trainings for landlords, realtors, transitional housing consumers and municipalities. • Completed and released 5 research reports on fair housing and fair lending issues. • Filed 33 discrimination complaints with HUD based on race, national origin, familial status, disability & gender. • Received grant awards from the Cleveland Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, The William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neil Foundation, the Woodruff Foundation, the HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program, the HUD Fair Housing Education and Outreach Initiatives program, and a number of municipal contracts. • Settled the federal discrimination suit against Cleveland Developer K&D and its architects requiring the builder make all common areas and all 107 units accessible for people with disabilities. The developer also must pay $567,000 in damages, attorneys’ fees and costs. The work of Jeff Dillman had an impact that reached beyond our region. • He was invited to speak in Michigan at the National Association for County Community & Economic Development on local governments’ obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. • Jeff also testified in Atlanta before the Federal Reserve Board on revisions to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, calling for increased transparency and a more user-friendly format. The Housing Center is certain that he will continue to make a difference as a humble but extremely effective advocate for civil rights. While all the Housing Center’s accomplishments are significant, we believe that there is still a lot of work to do for the benefit of Northeast Ohio. We are launching a new strategic plan to create even more effective fair housing programs including more advocacy, expanded research, and outreach and education to empower more individuals and communities. We look forward to participating further in the partnerships forming to improve the quality of life in our region and look forward to taking the lead to foster diverse communities where equal opportunities in housing are assured and all neighborhoods are desirable because they offer quality education, food, access to healthcare, a sustainable environment and housing choice for all.

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Housing Center Settles Federal Discrimination Suit with Cleveland Developers, Architects

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The Housing Center has settled a housing discrimination lawsuit alleging disability discrimination by the designers and builders of a Cleveland apartment and condominium complex. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in 2009 by the Housing Research & Advocacy Center against the K & D Group and others responsible for designing and constructing the Stonebridge apartments and condominiums, located on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission joined the lawsuit, after finding probable cause that a number of the defendants had violated state accessibility laws. To read the full press release, click here. (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/136-Housing-Center-Settles-Federal-Housing-Discrimination-Suit-with-Cleveland-Developer-Architect.html)

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Housing Center Releases Annual State of Fair Housing in Northeast Ohio Report for 2011

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Although complaints of housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio decreased in 2010 from 2009, the number remained significantly higher than the average number of complaints filed in the last 21 years and represented the third highest yearly total since 1990, according to a the new report issued by the Housing Research & Advocacy Center. The report found that 186 complaints of housing discrimination were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2010, compared to 226 in 2009 and a 21-year average of 128 complaints in Northeast Ohio. The Housing Center’s report also examined trends in discrimination complaints over the last ten years, finding an 72% increase in complaints filed from 2006-2010, when an average of 189.6 complaints were filed each year, compared to the previous five-year period, when the yearly average was 110.4. This increase was due to a 46.6% increase in the number of cases based on race (from 189 to 277) and a 38.9% increase in the number of cases based on disability (from 180 to 250). To access the full report, click here (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/133-State-of-Fair-Housing-in-Northeast-Ohio-April-2011.html). To access the press release, click here (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/132-State-of-Fair-Housing-in-Northeast-Ohio-April-2011.html).

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New Study Finds Subprime Lending in Cleveland Double the National Rate

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The most recent mortgage lending data reveal that Clevelanders receive high-cost subprime mortgage loans at more than double the rate of the national average, according to the latest research report from the Housing Research & Advocacy Center. Almost one-quarter (24.25%) of home mortgage loans in the City of Cleveland were high-cost subprime loans in Cleveland in 2008, compared to 11.6% nationwide. By contrast, 13.06% of mortgage loans in Cuyahoga County were high-cost subprime loans. The Housing Center also found that African Americans and Hispanics in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are more likely to obtain home mortgage loans with high interest rates compared to white residents. In the last month, the Housing Center published two reports that analyze 2008 mortgage lending data (the most recent available) in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. The data reveal that in the City of Cleveland, African Americans obtained high-cost mortgage loans 32.33% of the time, compared to 25.54% of the time for Hispanics and 19.54% for whites. In Cuyahoga County as a whole, African Americans obtained high-cost mortgage loans 24.85% of the time, compared to 20.25% of the time for Hispanics and 10.30% for whites. In Cleveland, the neighborhoods with the greatest concentration of high-cost lending were North Broadway (44.00% of all originations), Union-Miles (39.19%) and St. Clair-Superior (38.89%), compared to the Citywide average of 24.25%. In Cuyahoga County, the greatest overall incidence of high-cost lending occurred in East Cleveland and Newburgh Height (38.46% each), compared to the Countywide average of 13.06%.

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New Study Finds Housing Discimination Complaints Remain High in Northeast Ohio

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Although complaints of housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio decreased by 10 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, the number remained significantly higher than the average number of complaints filed in the last 20 years and represented the second highest yearly total since 1990, according to a new report issued by the Housing Research & Advocacy Center in Cleveland. The report, based on the number of complaints filed in the region with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), found that 223 complaints were filed in 2009, compared to 254 in 2008 and a 20-year average of 125.2 complaints in the region. The Housing Center’s report also examined trends in discrimination complaints over the last ten years, finding an 85% increase in complaints filed from 2005-2009, when an average of 181.6 complaints were filed each year, compared to the previous five-year period, when the yearly average was 98. This increase was due to a 64.3% increase in the number of cases based on disability (from 154 to 253) and a 60.9% increase in the number of cases based on race (from 174 to 280). Jeffrey D. Dillman, Executive Director of the Housing Center, stated, “While it is good to see the numbers come down even a little bit from the historic high in 2008, the number of complaints filed in 2009 is very concerning, and we know that these complaints represent only a small portion of the amount of discrimination in the region.” The Housing Center estimates that there are annually at least 33,690 instances of housing discrimination in the region against African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the rental and sales markets, meaning the vast majority of cases are never reported to a government agency. The report, entitled “The State of Fair Housing in Northeast Ohio: April 2010,” is the Housing Center’s fifth annual comprehensive survey of fair housing in Northeast Ohio, analyzing housing discrimination and segregation in a six-county region (Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, and Medina Counties). The other findings of the report include that: • The number of cases brought based on familial status, national origin, sex/gender, and religion also increased from 2000-2004 to 2005-2009. • The most common bases of discrimination alleged in complaints filed in 2005-2009 were race (30.8%), disability (27.9%), and familial status (19.6%). • Over the 20-year period, 1990-2009, cases filed alleging race discrimination accounted for 39.6% of the total, compared to 23.4% for handicap, 19.3% for familial status, 6.9% for national origin, 4.8% for sex/gender, 1.7% for religion, and 1.0% for color. • From 1990-2009, almost three-quarters of the complaints (73.9%) were filed in Cuyahoga County. • 55 local governments in the region have passed fair housing ordinances – 36 in Cuyahoga County, compared to nine in Lorain County, four Lake County, three in Ashtabula County, and three in Medina County. There are no local fair housing ordinances in Geauga County. Dillman continued, “Governments at all levels have an obligation to affirmatively further fair housing.” HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing, John Trasviña, noted in January that this requirement “means not only continuing to address acts of discrimination, but also using fair housing laws to strengthen neighborhoods.” Federal law prohibits discrimination in the rental or sale of housing, and in the mortgage lending and homeowners insurance markets, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and handicap. In addition, Ohio law prohibits discrimination based on ancestry and military status. The report recommends enacting stronger local fair housing laws, restoring Ohio’s fair housing law to make it equivalent to federal fair housing laws at all levels, strengthen the commitment of governments that receive federal funds to “affirmatively further fair housing,” creating a federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency, increasing monitoring and investigations of mortgage lenders, implementing comprehensive education efforts, ensuring that all online housing advertisements fully comply with fair housing laws, and providing government incentives and other creative solutions to combat housing discrimination and racial and economic segregation. The research was supported by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The authors and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the view of the federal government. # # # The Housing Research & Advocacy Center is a nonprofit fair housing organization whose mission is to eliminate housing discrimination and assure choice in Northeast Ohio by providing those at risk with effective information, intervention and advocacy. The Housing Center is a founding member of Greater Cleveland Community Shares.

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Kirwan Institute Publishes Article on Subprime Lending in Cleveland

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The Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, as part of the Future of Fair Housing Project, publishes article by the Housing Center’s Jeffrey Dillman on Subprime Lending in the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Access the full article: Subprime Lending in the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County – 2010 (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/99-Subprime-Lending-in-the-City-of-Cleveland-and-Cuyahoga-County-2010.html) Read more about Kirwan Institute’s Future of Fair Housing Project. (http://kirwaninstitute.org/research/projects/future-of-fair-housing.php)

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Housing Center Sues K&D Group, Stonebridge Apartments & Condos

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The Housing Center filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against the K&D Group, Inc., and others involved in the design and construction of the Stonebridge apartments and condominiums. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, alleges that the defendants violates federal and state accessibility laws in designing and building the massive upscale residential and commercial development, located on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland. In addition to the K&D Group, the lawsuit names Stonebridge Builing & Design, Inc., Stonebridge Waterfront, Inc., and Berardi + Partners, Inc., the architects for the project, as defendants. Jeffrey D. Dillman, Executive Director of the Housing Center, stated, “Accessible housing is an essential means of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to fully participate in community life. By failing to design and construct these buildings in compliance with the law, K&D Group and the other defendants have just as effectively excluded people using wheelchairs and other mobility aids as if they had posted a sign saying ‘No Disabled People Allowed.’” Investigations by the Housing Center and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) revealed numerous and substantial violations of the federal Fair Housing Act and the Ohio Revised Code at each of the apartment and condominium buildings constructed or under construction at Stonebridge. Stonebridge is the largest single residential project in Cleveland in 97 years, with more than 2,000 residential units planned. In February, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission found probable cause that the defendants had violated Ohio civil rights laws in building the housing complex based on a complaint filed by the Housing Center. The lawsuit states that the units at Stonebridge have steps, inaccessible bathrooms and kitchens, passageways and doors that are too narrow for wheelchairs, light switches and electrical outlets beyond the reach of wheelchair users, as well as other features that prevent people with mobility impairments from using and accessing the residential units. In addition, Defendants constructed common restrooms and recreational facilities in such a way as to make them inaccessible to wheelchair users. The complaint further states that Defendants have engaged in a continuous pattern and practice of discrimination against people with disabilities in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and the Ohio Revised Code by designing and constructing multi-family housing in such a manner as to deny people with disabilities full access to and the use of these facilities. The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring the defendants to modify the buildings to bring them into compliance with federal and state laws and prohibiting future discrimination by the defendants, as well as monetary damages to compensate victims. It also asks the court to order the defendants to stop construction on the building that is not completed until they can show plans to bring it into compliance with the law. The Housing Center is represented in the case by Relman & Dane, a civil rights law firm based in Washington, D.C., with an office in Perrysburg, Ohio, and Cooper & Walinski, an Ohio-based firm with offices in Cleveland and Toledo. Cooper & Walinski Attorney Diane Citrino, one of the Housing Center’s attorneys, stated: “New housing in Cleveland is exciting and needed, but it must welcome all of our residents, including those who are disabled.” According to 2007 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 202,749 individuals in Cuyahoga County with a disability, including 16,252 between the ages of 5 and 15, 111,947 aged 16-64, and 74,550 aged 65 and over. These numbers are expected to increase as the population ages, as wounded veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, and as medical care allows people with disabilities to live longer and fuller lives. Federal law prohibits discrimination in the rental or sale of housing, and in the mortgage lending and homeowners insurance markets, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and handicap. In addition, Ohio law prohibits discrimination based on ancestry and military status. Among other things, federal and state law requires that new multifamily housing developments be designed and constructed with basic accessibility features, including usable doors, kitchens, and bathrooms, reinforced walls for grab bars, and accessible and usable public and common use areas. Access the Press Release (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/84-Housing-Center-Sues-KD-Group-Stonebridge-Apartments-Condos.html) Access the Complaint (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/85-Housing-Center-v-KD-Group-Complaint.html)

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Racial & Ethnic Disparities Found in Medina County Mortgage Lending

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African Americans in Medina County are denied mortgage loans more often than whites and, when they obtain loans, are more likely to receive high-cost subprime loans than whites, a new study of mortgage lending reveals. The study also found that Hispanics are also denied mortgage loans more often than whites. Read the full press release: Medina County Community Lending Factbook Press Release: October 2009 (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/89-Medina-County-Community-Lending-Factbook-Press-Release-October-2009.html). Read the full report: Medina County Community Lending Factbook: October 2009 (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/88-Medina-County-Community-Lending-Factbook-October-2009.html).

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Payday Lenders Operating in 81 Ohio Counties, Charging Up to 680% Interest

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Payday lenders have avoided the 28% rate cap set out in the 2008 legislation by obtaining licenses to make loans under other Ohio Laws. Lenders now operate 1,020 stores statewide. Read the full Press Release (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/65-The-New-Face-of-Payday-Lending-in-Ohio-March-2009.html) Read the full report: The New Face of Payday Lending in Ohio (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/68-The-New-Face-of-Payday-Lending-in-Ohio-March-2009.html)

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Housing Center Finds Persisting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Ohio Mortgage Lending

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African Americans and Hispanics Face More Loan Denials and Receive Higher Interest Rates than whites. Cleveland Region Worst in State for Subprime Lending Disparities Read the full Press Release (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/62-Persisting-Racial-Ethnic-Disparities-in-Ohio-Mortgage-Lending-February-2009.html) Read the full report: Persisting Racial & Ethnic Disparities in Ohio Mortgage Lending (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/61-Persisting-Racial-Ethnic-Disparities-in-Ohio-Mortgage-Lending-February-2009.html)

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