FOR RELEASE: June 19, 2019
Contact: Michael Lepley
Phone: (216) 361-9240, x209.
E-mail: mlepley@thehousingcenter.org
Cleveland, Ohio – Housing discrimination persists in Northeast Ohio. In 2018, there were 138 complaints of housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio that were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with a 25-year average of 141.1 complaints filed. The Fair Housing Center estimates that there are at least 33,690 instances of housing discrimination annually in the region showing that the complaints filed represent only a small fraction of the total number of instances of housing discrimination in the region. Over the past five years (2014-2018), the most common bases of discrimination alleged in complaints were disability (37.9%), race (20.2%), and familial status (17.5%). The Fair Housing Center uncovered housing discrimination against the LGBTQ community in 34.1% of rental transactions and against survivors of domestic violence in 35.9% of rental transactions.
In the Cleveland-Elyria MSA in both 2016 and 2017, African American borrowers were more than twice as likely to be denied a home-purchase loan (20.1% for 2016, 18.4% for 2017) than white borrowers (7.5% and 6.9% respectively). In Cuyahoga County, some of the largest lenders have no branch presence in majority-minority census tracts and many lenders are making little-to-no effort to create or market products in majority-minority neighborhoods.
Housing segregation remained constant for African Americans since 1990, and the region is ranked 5th most segregated for major metropolitan areas. Affordable housing programs such as the Housing Choice Voucher Program and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) are not expanding choice for low income people of color as voucher program participants and properties using the LIHTC program are clustered in areas with concentrated, racialized poverty. A study by The Fair Housing Center showed that landlords with units outside of areas with concentrations of voucher holders refuse to accept a voucher more than 90% of the time.
The report includes a review of municipal fair housing laws and local zoning codes. In Northeast Ohio, 60 municipalities have local fair housing ordinances, many of which expand protection beyond national and state laws. Forty-three municipalities have zoning ordinances that restrict or regulate group homes in ways that potentially violate the Fair Housing Act. Thirty-seven municipalities have criminal activity nuisance ordinances that that have been shown to disproportionately target and often cause the eviction of people of color, victims of domestic violence, and people with disabilities.
This report was funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The findings of this work are dedicated to the public. 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 Fair Housing Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and expand fair housing rights, eliminate housing discrimination, and promote integrated communities.