FAIR HOUSING

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 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 developer refuses to sell a home.

The protected classes above are listed in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, better known as the Fair Housing Act, which made it unlawful to discriminate in any aspect relating to the sale, rental, or financing of housing or in the provisions of brokerage services or facilities in connection with the sale or rental of a dwelling as well as homeless shelter lodging.  Escambia County and the City of Pensacola enacted fair housing ordinances that provide additional protections based on age, marital status, and military status.  These protections make it unlawful to:

  • Refuse to rent or sell housing.

  • Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental.

  • Show apartments or homes in certain neighborhoods only.

  • Advertise housing to preferred groups of people only.

  • Refuse to provide information regarding mortgage loans, deny a mortgage loan, or impose different terms or conditions on a mortgage loan.

  • Deny property insurance.

  • Conduct property appraisals in a discriminatory manner.

  • Refuse to make certain modifications or accommodations for persons with a mental or physical disability, including persons recovering from alcohol and substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.

  • Fail to design and construct housing in an accessible manner.

  • Harass, coerce, intimidate, or interfere with anyone exercising or assisting others with their fair housing rights. 

The Escambia Pensacola Human Relations Commission can:

  • Investigate a complaint to see if the law has been broken.

  • Conduct fact-finding conferences and enter into conciliation agreements to the satisfaction of both parties.

  • Refer cases that need to be elevated to HUD and the Florida Commission on Human Relations

If you think your rights have been violated, the Housing Discrimination Complaint Form is available on our website, or you may contact one of the resources listed below. Citizens have one year after the alleged violation to file a complaint with HUD, but it should be filed as soon as possible.

Complaints regarding Rental Developments

For landlord and property concerns at HUD subsidized properties, the Multifamily Housing Complaint Line is a service provided by HUD's Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/mfh/hc/mfhc) that enables public citizens and residents of HUD-insured and assisted properties to report complaints with a property's management concerning matters such as poor maintenance, dangers to health and safety, mismanagement and fraud. It can be accessed by dialing 1-800-MULTI-70 (1-800-685-8470)