Page 8 - The Civil Rights Division booklet

Fair Housing and Fair Lending

Housing is a basic need, and the ability to access hous-
ing without discrimination is a right to which all people
should have access. In 1968, recognizing the great damage
that housing discrimination can do to individuals, families
and communities, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act to
prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color,
religion, national origin or sex. The Act was later amended to
include disability and family status, and continues today to be
a critical tool in combating discrimination.

The Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section is
responsible for the Department’s enforcement of the Fair
Housing Act. The Section also enforces the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, which prohibits creditors, such as banks,
finance companies, retail and department stores, credit card
companies, and credit unions, from discriminating against
credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant re-
ceives income from a public assistance program or exercises
rights protected under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

The Division uses these valuable tools to investigate and
combat all types of housing discrimination, including discrim-
ination in rental housing. The Division operates a testing

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