Research and Describe the Phenomenon of Housing Discrimination

Housing Discrimination
Name
Institution
Abstract
This paper discusses the phenomenon of housing discrimination, in particular, how people with disabilities are victims of housing discrimination.  It analyzes the practice as employed by the landlords and other property owners, while clearly specifying the meaning of having a disability in the American context. Through delving into various literatures and prior studies, the paper works out to highlight the formation of laws that protect people with disability, against such discrimination. The formulation of the Federal Fair Housing Act and the subsequent addition of the disability and familial clause came about essentially to protect tenants with disability against discrimination by their landlords. It established that indeed there is discrimination, especially one based on outward appearance by landlords and property owners.
Housing Discrimination
Introduction
This is a form of discrimination whereby an individual or family is treated with bias when trying to purchase, rent, sell, lease or finance a house because of certain characteristics such as sex, class, religion, and disability. Hose discrimination Is thought to lead to spatial and racial segregation. This kind of spatial inequality can also lead to can also create wealth disparities between particular groups of people. This paper creates a focus to discrimination according to disabilities. According to statistical evidence, discrimination in the housing sector is still common. People with disabilities are the most affected by this discrimination. This paper will also identify some of the measures that the government and other relevant organizations have set up to deal with discrimination.
Discrimination in the housing sector can be traced to the ages after end Civil War. After the war, the renowned Jim Crow Laws were introduced. These laws discriminated according to race and ethnicity. Discrimination according to disability was mainly worse if the individual was African American. Given that the population of people with disability is low cases and reports of discrimination are rare. However, this form of discrimination is quite common. To begin with, most houses on the market today are not designed to suit people with one kind of physical impairment or the other. The people with disability have to buy houses then begin restructuring them. Given that some owners do not want their house changed or modified finding a house becomes hard for people with disability (Ross & Turner 2005).
Discrimination in the country is still rampant, in the U.S. realtors or house owners will not discriminate outrightly but will decline offers from people with disabilities. To deal with this issue, the government has set up different departments where people can make reports of discrimination. According to statistics from the Housing and Urban Development, there are over two million cases of discrimination every year, but only one percent of those cases are reported. The reason for this is that victims of discrimination will not even know they have been discriminated against.
For instance, if a person with a disability visits a realtor, the realtor will only look at the person and say tell him or her that an offer has been made in the house of interest. Nonetheless, the set organizations can carry out investigations if any sinister activity is noted. For the people with disabilities in Utah and Salt Lake City, there is the Fair Housing program at the Disability Centre. Through this program, the center serves people from all types of protected classes. This center helps these people to know their rights and when they get infringed, according to the Federal Fair Housing Acts (Brescia 2009).
The Fair Housing Act
This legislation was passed during the presidency of President Lyndon Johnson. Members of the Congress set up penalties for the violation of the Act. The act is codified under the title of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
The Fair Housing Act was set and implemented with a primary purpose of protecting buyers or tenants from discriminatory or abusive sellers or landlords. According to the Act, it is illegal for any owner or landlord to refuse to sell or to re...