Fair Housing and Bias

• This course explores fair housing, bias, and discrimination in real property valuation services. Starting with the basics, it will review federal fair housing laws enacted over the years, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, and more. 

• We will also look over the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 (ECOA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Section 8 (RESPA), and the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 (HOPA). We will discuss the concepts of redlining, the fair housing complaint process, HUD enforcement, Department of Justice enforcement, private lawsuits, and new penalties and sanctions for non-compliance. 

• There are several different types of biases. We will review definitions and examples of biases, particularly those that may be unintended and potentially occur in real appraisal work. 

• The current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) will be reviewed for guidance on fair housing, bias, and discrimination. 

• Finally, this course will offer suggestions for appraisers to consider to avoid unintentional fair housing bias and discrimination violations and what they should do if they find themselves the subject of a fair housing complaint.