Community Development & Revitalization

Fair Housing

Application Period Closed

The U.S. Fair Housing Act of 1969 protects all citizens. It states that no one can be denied housing because of their race, color, religion, sex national origin, familial status, age or disability. The month of April serves as a time to celebrate the progress made in opening the doors of housing opportunity to every citizen. It is also a time to acknowledge the fair housing challenges that still remain, and commit to finding solutions to those challenges.

Every five years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires an analysis of our area be conducted to identify impediments to fair housing and, subsequently, recommend solutions to the impediments. The most recent analysis of impediments to fair housing was completed and submitted to HUD on May 15, 2016. The document is used as a guiding document to establish funding priorities via Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars. Further, it serves as a plan to augment current fair housing initiatives internally, and is slated to be an integral part of Charleston County’s Community Development Department's outreach and educational plans in the future.

Contact

If you think your rights have been violated, contact SC Human Affairs Commission

P. O. Box 4490

2611 Forest Dr., Columbia, SC 29204

Suite 200

Phone: (803) 737-7800

Toll Free: (800) 521-0725

TDD: (803) 253-4125

Email: Information@SCHAC.State.SC.us

Office Hours: M – F | 8:30AM – 5PM

Fair Housing 101

What is Prohibited?

In the Sale and Rental of Housing:

No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability:

Refuse to rent or sell housing
Refuse to negotiate for housing
Make housing unavailable
Deny a dwelling
Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
Provide different housing services or facilities
Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental
For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting)
Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing

In Mortgage Lending:

No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability:

Refuse to make a mortgage loan
Refuse to provide information regarding loans
Impose different terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points or fees
Discriminate in appraising property
Refuse to purchase a loan
Set different terms or conditions for purchasing a loan

It is illegal for anyone to:

Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or assisting others who exercise that right
Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the U.S. Fair Housing Act.

Additional Protection if You or Someone Associated with You:

Have a physical or mental disability (including hearing, mobility and visual impairments, chronic alcoholism, chronic mental illness, AIDS, AIDS Related Complex and mental disability) that substantially limits one or more major life activities
Have a record of such a disability
Are regarded as having such a disability

Your landlord may not:

Refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your expense, if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing. (Where reasonable, the landlord may permit changes only if you agree to restore the property to its original condition when you move).
Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing.

Example: A building with a no pets policy must allow a visually impaired tenant to keep a guide dog.

Example: An apartment complex that offers tenants ample, unassigned parking must honor a request from a mobility-impaired tenant for a reserved space near her apartment if necessary to assure that she can have access to her apartment.

However, housing need not be made available to a person who is a direct threat to the health or safety of others or who currently uses illegal drugs.

Requirements for New Buildings

In buildings that are ready for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, and have an elevator and four or more units:

Public and common areas must be accessible to persons with disabilities
Doors and hallways must be wide enough for wheelchairs
All units must have:
- An accessible route into and through the unit
- Accessible light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental controls
- Reinforced bathroom walls to allow later installation of grab bars
- Kitchens and bathrooms that can be used by people in wheelchairs

If a building with four or more units has no elevator and will be ready for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, these standards apply to ground floor units.

These requirements for new buildings do not replace any more stringent standards in state or local law.

Housing Opportunities for Families

Unless a building or community qualifies as housing for older persons, it may not discriminate based on familial status. That is, it may not discriminate against families in which one or more children under 18 live with:

A parent
A person who has legal custody of the child or children
The designee of the parent or legal custodian, with the parent or custodian's written permission

Familial status protection also applies to pregnant women and anyone securing legal custody of a child under 18.

Example: Housing for older persons is exempt from the prohibition against familial status discrimination if:

The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary has determined that it is specifically designed for and occupied by elderly persons under a federal, state or local government program, or
It is occupied solely by persons who are 62 or older, or
It houses at least one person who is 55 or older in at least 80 percent of the occupied units, and adheres to a policy that demonstrates intent to house persons who are 55 or older.

A transition period permits residents on or before September 13, 1988, to continue living in the housing, regardless of their age, without interfering with the exemption.