This is a closed session and open only to Operating Members, current FHIP PEI grantees, fair housing organization staff conducting investigations, and attorneys representing fair housing organizations or cooperating attorneys.  

In this environment where federal fair housing enforcement in systemic cases is virtually nonexistent and federal courts are erecting barriers to private enforcement, this session will explore various litigation strategies used in complex impact cases to advance fair housing claims. We will examine two challenges to municipal failures to ensure that multifamily housing supported by federal funding complies with the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Act. We will examine the navigation of new legal hurdles in ongoing multi-party litigation by private fair housing organizations challenging discriminatory REO maintenance and marketing. Finally, we will discuss the use of class action claims in two distinct fair housing contexts:  1) a challenge to the discriminatory use of water liens by a municipality, and 2) a challenge to a predatory and discriminatory “rent-to-own” housing scheme.