Equal Rights - Equal Opportunity
The Fair Housing Flash (Tampa Bay Fair Housing Consortium)
You will know you have been discriminated against because of your race, color, national origin, religion, disability, marital or familial status, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity/expression or by retaliation if:
- An apartment manager or owner refuses to rent to you.
- You were told a house or an apartment wasn't available when it really was.
- You were offered different terms or conditions of sale or rental than someone else.
- A lending company refuses to give you a mortgage to purchase a home, although you qualify.
- You were steered to or away from a neighborhood, which is primarily composed of one racial or ethnic group.
- A builder or develop refuses to sell a home.
Although theirs are the most common violations, there are others that violate the Federal Fair Housing Act and the City of Tampa Human Rights Ordinance (Tampa Code).
Those who deal in housing should recognize the practices outlined above as ones to avoid. Such discriminatory actions are against the law, as is blockbusting. Blockbusting is defined as the inducing of owners to sell their homes to escape a minority group. Discriminatory advertising in the sale or rental of housing is also illegal. This includes ads indicating racial preference or limitation in either their content or placement.
The Office of Human Rights has the ability to:
- Investigate to see if the law has been broken.
- Conduct fact-finding conferences and enter into conciliation agreements to the satisfaction of both parties.
- Dual file your complaint, based on a contractual agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Atlanta, Georgia.
Additional Resources:
Notice of Tenant Rights
Aviso de Derechos y Recursos del Inquilino
How to Fight Back Against LGBTQ Mortgage Discrimination