Housing complaints increase, but fewer charges are filed

WASHINGTON -- The federal government is filing fewer housing discrimination charges even as consumer complaints against landlords, real estate agents and mortgage brokers have risen steadily.

Most renters and buyers who seek help from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are unlikely to get relief for their complaints, which can include alleged discrimination by landlords and sellers based on race, religion, sex or disability. The agency is throwing out a growing number of complaints, federal data show.

The housing agency, responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases under the Federal Fair Housing Act, filed 31 discrimination charges in 2007 and 36 in 2006. Charges for those two years combined dropped 65% from the last two years of the Clinton administration — 111 charges were filed in 1999; 82 in 2000.

Complaints during the same period rose from fewer than 7,100 in both 1999 and 2000 to more than 10,000 in both 2006 and 2007.

The agency settles most of its discrimination cases out of court, but the percentage of cases settled also is down.

This year, the housing agency has charged 12 housing providers with discrimination and referred two cases to the Justice Department because of an alleged pattern of discrimination, agency data show.

The National Fair Housing Alliance, a housing rights group, says HUD and Justice do not vigorously enforce fair housing laws. "It's a drop in the bucket for the number of complaints that happen annually," CEO Shanna Smith says.

Federal housing officials say cases may take years to resolve in court, so they prefer to negotiate settlements for victims.

"We're obtaining the comparable relief that we would obtain in the court, and we're doing it faster," says Bryan Greene, HUD deputy assistant secretary for enforcement.

The agency is settling more cases overall than during the previous administration, but the percentage of settled cases has declined. In 1999, HUD settled 778 cases, 42% of the total investigated. In 2007, it settled 948 cases — 36.5% of the total investigated.