BISMARCK, ND, August 14, 1998 -- The North Dakota Fair Housing Council (NDFHC) released results today of a survey of North Dakota residents asking about their awareness of fair housing rights and discriminatory advertising in the housing market. The University of North Dakota Bureau of Governmental Affairs conducted the survey of 600 residents for the NDFHC in counties with the largest populations and newspaper circulations in the state. The poll results have a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.

According to Amy Nelson, NDFHC Executive Director, the survey results "have been a wake-up call about how much work there is to do in making fair housing opportunities a reality in North Dakota."

Since the federal Fair Housing Act Amendment was signed by President Reagan in 1988, it has been illegal to deny anyone housing based on their race, color, religion, national origin, gender, familial status, or disability. North Dakota laws also prohibit housing discrimination based on age, marital status and source of income.

"The problem," said Nelson, "is that a majority of North Dakotans may be unaware of their rights or responsibilities under state and federal fair housing laws and that lack of information, more than anything else, makes illegal housing discrimination possible throughout our state."

The survey shows that a majority of North Dakotans are unaware of fair housing protections. The NDFHC survey released today shows less than half of those contacted knew that either federal or state fair housing laws protect people from discrimination based on religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, disability or because there are children in the household (familial status). Nearly one out of four North Dakotans believe owners and managers can deny housing opportunities based on any of those factors without consequence.

The remainder of those who responded to the survey questions did not know what protections they had against housing discrimination. A majority did know that denying housing based on race was illegal, but even there more than one of ten North Dakotans contacted believed it was not illegal to refuse to rent or sell to a person because of the color of their skin.

The survey also indicated that families are hurt most by housing discrimination and discriminatory advertising. Most North Dakotans rely on local newspapers for information about available housing. The NDFHC survey showed that more than 60% considered local housing ads the best source for information about available housing and they were confident newspapers would not publish ads containing discriminatory phrases unless the ads were legal and gave accurate information.

Yet, a majority of those responding had read at least one discriminatory housing ad in their local newspaper with phrases -- "adults, no pets," "quiet or mature adult," "single or retired person," etc. -- that do discriminate against families with children and are illegal under the fair housing laws.

The survey results confirmed the NDFHC’s experiences with patterns of housing discrimination throughout the state. "Families with children face the most obstacles in finding decent housing, no matter how qualified they may be," said Nelson. Discrimination against persons with disabilities, based on race or national origin, and against women or men as a group follow in that order. "For these groups," Nelson said, "there is no free and open housing market in North Dakota, something we were all guaranteed under the fair housing laws."