Our Services

Tenants with Disabilities

If you have a disability, you may request reasonable accommodations and/or reasonable modifications to fully use and enjoy your home. Although this right is protected under fair housing laws, some landlords do not comply. We work as an advocate to increase awareness of this issue but also hold housing providers responsible to their obligation.

We work diligently to ensure that landlords, property owners, realtors, lenders, and others involved in your housing decision do not discriminate against persons with disabilities in renting or selling property. Persons with disabilities have a fundamental right to be treated equally in their housing objectives without fear of unlawful discrimination.

Compliance Training

Landlords and housing providers have a legal obligation to understand the laws that govern fair housing statutes. Although these laws and compliance obligations might seem convoluted at times, we have developed a program to assist with that problem. Working with various housing providers, we review what you must know regarding local, state, and federal fair housing laws to protect you and your establishment.

There is a responsibility that comes with housing, and we assist you by offering in-depth fair housing education that covers your responsibilities. Our program assists your team to become aware of infractions that they may have committed as well as prevent costly violations in the future. We are a resource for consumers and housing providers. Schedule a consultation today.

Information and Referral

Most calls to FHRC are inquiries that may not entail actual housing discrimination. For instance, someone may be interested in learning more about homeless services. When that and other non-fair housing inquiries occur, FHRC refers callers to organizations whose mission and/or programs offer services that would assists people's needs. Of equal importance at FHRC, is building and maintaining strong relationships with other community-based organizations regardless of their mission and programs. This matters because it is not uncommon for the public to have converging issues that require collegial relationships to assist the public effectively.

Health and Housing

Your home and your health are interdependent on each other. A sick home may, at some point, contribute to the health and overall well-being of its inhabitants, especially those who are medically vulnerable such as babies, young children, and seniors. Additionally, trauma, which is a severe physical experience, is receiving much deserved attention as it can also occur during an episode of housing discrimination or be linked to chronic, toxic stress that can occur in housing. For example, any form of harassment in housing may qualify as housing discrimination as well as be internalized by the recipient as a traumatic event. It is important to prevent physical and mental harm in housing. Staff at FHRC is trauma-informed; therefore, everyone serves by being mindful of the need to prevent and avoid re-traumatizing during interactions with the public.

Housing Laws

The Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern PA is committed to fighting housing discrimination in its various forms across our community. We collaborate with local leaders to implement effective policies that will eliminate discriminatory practices. While there is no single thing that can be done, or switch that can be flipped, our goal is to advocate for the necessary steps. Our public policy team collaborates with federal, state, and local policymakers to support and expand access to housing opportunities.

Community Engagement

The Fair Housing Act is a broad and powerful civil rights legislation because it covers protected classes (race, color, religion, national origin, gender, familial status, and disability) and covered transactions (sales, rental, insurance, lending, and appraisals), and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH).

The latter is significant because it requires a jurisdiction that accepts federal Community Development Block Grant funding to certify that it will not engage in discriminatory housing practices and take active steps to remove barriers to housing discrimination. Unfortunately, the public does not know enough and understand how to use AFFH during local Comprehensive Planning processes. Through community engagement, the public is entitled to weigh in on community development projects that last for several years.

FHRC is committed to raising public knowledge and awareness of the role of AFFH in undoing the vestiges of redlining in underserved communities.