San Diego
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City officials Thursday announced that an $80,000 grant from the San Diego Housing Commission will fund the efforts of the city’s first Fair Housing Council, formed to combat housing discrimination citywide.
The council will use the money to hire staff members who will educate renters, landlords, apartment owners and the public about the requirements of federal fair-housing laws. The organization will also take complaints from home seekers who believe they have been victims of discrimination and will send out anonymous white and minority volunteers to test for landlord bias.
In a covert audit conducted last year, the Urban League of San Diego found that blacks seeking apartments in seven separate sections of the city faced discrimination 40% of the time.
“The major goal of the Fair Housing Council will be to eliminate illegal housing discrimination through a strong educational program, solicitation of cooperation from all segments of the community and housing industry and improved enforcement,” said Judith Green, president of the council’s interim board of directors.
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