April is National Fair Housing Month and today Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz joined Bill O’Connell, Director of Community Planning and Development for the HUD Buffalo Field Office; DeAnna Eason, Executive Director of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME); and members of the Erie County Fair Housing Partnership at the Edward A. Rath county office building to renew the call for fair housing and call attention to continuing issues surrounding housing. 2023 marks the 55^th anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act which was signed into law on April 11, 1968 by President Johnson and made discrimination in housing unlawful.

“We join today to recommit ourselves to the ideals that President Johnson signed into law 55 years ago, reaffirming that discrimination in housing is illegal and wrong. Erie County’s Fair Housing Legislation, passed in 2018, promotes equal opportunity in housing and includes classes which are subject to discrimination in fair housing choice but not protected under Federal and State law,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “These additional Protected Classes include gender identity and expression, source of income and immigration & citizenship status.  As a result, it is now illegal for a landlord to refuse housing to someone in Erie County based on their lawful occupation or employment, as well as sources of income in the form of public assistance, SSI, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers or other rental subsidies.”

The federal Fair Housing Act and New York State Human Rights Law prohibit discrimination in housing on the basis of a person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, age, marital status, military status and sexual orientation. Erie County’s Fair Housing Law goes further, prohibiting discrimination based on source of income, and immigration/citizenship status. Source of Income is the fastest-growing housing bias reported in our region and is frequently used as a pretext to discriminate against other protected classes (i.e. race, disability and familial status).

“Although the Fair Housing Act was passed 55 years ago, the matter of housing discrimination is far from resolved. We must all acknowledge the pervasive issue of inequality in housing, and the disparities endured by our neighbors, and commit to work together until discrimination is eliminated,” said DeAnna Eason, Executive Director, Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME).

“The Erie County Fair Housing Partnership is pleased to be part of the 55th anniversary of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the ‘National Fair Housing Act’.  The Erie County Fair Housing Partnership is a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting equal opportunity in housing for all residents of Western New York,” added Christopher Hull, President of the Erie County Fair Housing Partnership. “One of the Partnership’s greatest successes was its efforts to get the Erie County Fair Housing Law passed in 2018.  If you or anyone you know think that you or they were discriminated against while trying to rent an apartment, in how you were treated as a renter, or when you were interested in buying a home or getting a mortgage, please contact us.”

For more information:

    On the Erie County Fair Housing Partnership, Inc., call          716-648-6216

On Housing Opportunities Made Equal (“HOME”), call           716-854-1400

On the New York State Division of Human Rights, call            716-847-7632

On Neighborhood Legal Services, call                                             716-847-0650

On the US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, call          800-669-9777

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