Black Home Buyers In Fairfax Experience Discriminatory Practices In Housing: Report

RESTON, VA — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal calling for a review of the county's fair housing enforcement program and to include an enhancement of its education and training activities, as well as an ongoing review of those practices.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn introduced the proposal at Tuesday's meeting after a new report revealed that white individuals were receiving more favorable treatment by certain housing providers compared to their Black counterparts.

"The numbers reported for the lending and sales markets were more troubling," Alcorn said. "They clearly showed that historical practices of segregating neighborhoods through steering or offering no or less favorable loans to Black individuals."

In presenting his board matter, Alcorn pointed out that it was the county's policy to provide housing throughout the county regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, elderliness, military status, or source of funds in order to determine whether laws barring housing discrimination are being violated.

Part of the job of the Fairfax Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs is to collect housing discrimination data through its Fair Housing Testing Program.

Read the Full Report: Fair Housing Rental Sales Lending Testing Report

In 2019, OHREP entered into a contract with the Equal Rights Center to provide email, phone and in person testing services in the rental lending and sales housing markets. Between June 2019 and March 2021, ERC conducted and analyzed 122 tests based on race, national origin and disability. To determine if respondents were being treated differently, ERC contacted the agent with "matched pairs," meaning individuals from different backgrounds seeking the same loan or housing options.

"The rental tests showed housing providers were more likely to give white testers more detailed information, respond more frequently to their messages, and offer more favorable terms than their matched pair counterparts," Alcorn said. "It was also clear that certain housing providers lack the training to provide the same level of treatment to deaf individuals as they do to hearing individuals.

When conducting tests based on national origin, ERC reported a discernible difference in housing providers' treatment of white Americans compared to Latinx and Asian testers.

While Alcorn acknowledged that ERC's testing did not provide a statistically valid documentation of deficiencies in the enforcement of the county's fair housing policies, it did point to some issues in parts of the local housing industry.

Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, who is the board's sole Black member, supported the measure and acknowledged that some in the community needed to be made aware that these types of practices continue.

"This should not be happening," he said. "This is horrible. It makes my stomach turn to even talk about it. We have a duty to intervene."