Civil Rights Act of 1968
The Fair Housing Act confers jurisdiction to hear cases on federal district courts. Restrictions on discriminatory advertising do apply to all landlords without reservation. The Fair Housing Act has been strengthened since its adoption in 1968, but enforcement continues to be a concern among housing advocates. The Fair Housing Act applies to landlords renting or leasing space in their primary residence only if the residence contains living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by three or more other families living independently of each other, such as an owner-occupied rooming house.
The Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), beginning after the Brown v. Board of Education case, paved the way for the passage of a few civil rights bills. It also extended the Civil Rights Commission, so it could oversee registration and voting practices. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the United States Commission on Civil Rights and the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. The Civil Rights Act of 1960 enacted federal legislation of local registration polls and if anyone obstructed someone’s right to vote, there were severe penalties.
FHEO funds and has working agreements with many state and local governmental agencies where “substantially equivalent” fair housing laws are in place. There is also a network of private, non-profit fair housing advocacy organizations throughout the country. Victims of housing discrimination need not go through HUD or any other governmental agency to pursue their rights, however. That is known as FHEO’s Fair Housing Assistance Program (or “FHAP”). Under such agreements, FHEO refers complaints to the state or locality where the alleged incident occurred, and those agencies investigate and process the case instead of FHEO. Some are funded by FHEO’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (or “FHIP”), and some operate with private donations or grants from other sources.
The Act appears today in Title 25, sections 1301 to 1303 of the United States Code. The court case Talton v. Mayes helped establish the principles. In the 1960s, Congress held a series of hearings on the subject of the authority of tribal governments. The US Supreme Court had made clear that tribal internal affairs concerning tribal members’ individual rights were not covered by the Fifth Amendment to the US constitution. However, the tribes were ultimately subjected to the power of Congress and the Constitution.
