The North Dakota Fair Housing Council in cooperation with Montana Fair Housing will be holding educational workshops addressing fair housing. The workshops will be held from 9 am-1 pm. Dates and locations are as follows:

• September 22: Bismarck Public Library, 515 N. 5^th Street, Bismarck, ND
• September 23: Fargo Public Library, 102 N. 3^rd Street, Fargo, ND
• September 24: Grand Forks Public Library, 2110 Library Circle, Grand Forks, ND

The workshops will be informative for both landlords and tenants to learn how to end housing discrimination and what happens when discrimination occurs. Please contact the NDFHC with any questions. 

The North Dakota Fair Housing Council and six Bismarck residents filed a federal lawsuit August 7^th against John Haider, a Bismarck property owner, charging discriminatory housing practices. Complaints were also filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which enforces the Fair Housing Act.

Since 1995, the NDFHC had received 15 complaints of discrimination against Mr. Haider. On the basis of these complaints, the NDFHC conducted an investigation of Mr. Haider’s business operations.

The investigation by the NDFHC confirmed the basis for the complaints. The complaint charges that Mr. Haider routinely denies rental housing to unmarried couples, single mothers and families with children. The investigation found that when prospective tenants tell Mr. Haider that they are not married or a single mother, Mr. Haider often refuses to show them apartments, tries to steer them into undesirable units, or charges them more rent for the units than he would a married couple.

In addition, the complaint alleges that Mr. Haider told one fair housing investigator that he would not rent to Native Americans because they are dirty. He also stated that he would not rent to anyone on housing assistance. He claimed that he would not rent to divorced women because they had violated their marriage vows, and therefore, they would not be good renters.

Several Bismarck residents who were denied housing by Mr. Haider are also part of the lawsuit. The complaint charges that one Bismarck resident was looking for housing for herself and her three children and called Mr. Haider about available apartments that were being advertised. Mr. Haider refused to show her any of his available apartments, saying that he only rented to families that included a man. Two Bismarck couples were also denied from inspecting available apartments because they were not married.

Mr. Haider also denied housing to a nineteen year old male and his three roommates because they were too young. Mr. Haider told a fair housing investigator that he thinks all teenagers are hoodlums and that he refuses to rent to college students. It is illegal in North Dakota to deny housing on the basis of age.

The NDFHC and the individual plaintiffs are represented in the lawsuit by Calvin Rolfson, a Bismarck lawyer, and by Christopher Brancart, a lawyer from Pescadero, California who specializes in fair housing litigation.

The NDFHC released results of a survey on August 14^th. The survey was of North Dakota residents asking them 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 survey shows that a majority of North Dakotans may be unaware of fair housing protections. The survey 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 that denying housing based on race was illegal, but even there more than one out 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 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 Amy Nelson, NDFHC’s Executive Director. 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."

Kristi Klein has been promoted to Housing Coordinator of the North Dakota Fair Housing Council. Klein was previously a Housing Specialist at the NDFHC.