HAPCAP oversees fair housing board
David Laber, Athens NEWS Writer
August 15, 2005
Fair housing complaints in Athens city and county are on pace with the number of complaints in recent years, but the number of complaints could be reduced if residents knew more about the relevant law, according to a local fair housing advocate.
Crystal Ratliff, community development manager with the Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action Program (HAPCAP) Fair Housing Consortium, reported to Athens City Council Tuesday that "the No. 1 impediment (to fair housing) is knowledge. People do not know what they can or cannot say in advertising (to potential renters)," she said.
In 1968, federal law dictated that an individual could not be denied a rental house based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender and other such traits. For the city to receive community development block grants, it must contract with an organization to oversee a fair housing board.
This year, the city of Athens has contracted HAPCAP to run the fair housing board, and as a result Ratliff prepared data to bring City Council up to speed.
Over a nine-month period, Ratliff said she has received 19 complaints throughout the county with only three coming from the city of Athens. Of those three, all involved landlord-tenant issues, and none involved Ohio University student renters.
Of the 19 complaints, only one involved alleged discrimination, she said, and that was a case where a landlord did not know better when placing an advertisement seeking a Christian renter.
HAPCAP has served as the county's fair housing board for three years now, and during that time, Ratliff said a typical year will see about 30 complaints -- almost always landlord-tenant issues -- which means that 19 over nine months is about on target.
The most common complaints involve the lack of affordable housing in the county, and issues tenants and landlords have with each other, Ratliff said. She noted that the board works for both tenants and landlords. "We are the mediators," she said.
The complaints landlords and tenants have with each other most often involve housing repairs and eviction and lease questions, she said.
Ratliff said she was surprised none of the complaints came from OU students, but she said part of the reason may be because the university has a student renters union and the Office of Off-Campus Living. Another reason could be that students are not aware of the fair housing board.
To overcome the lack of knowledge, Ratliff said she works with county, township, city and village officials as well as social service providers. She also has been circulating more brochures.
"Overall, I have seen an improvement (in the public's knowledge of the board)," Ratliff said, but she said a lot of room remains for improvement. She said now some of the complaints the board receives are the result of a public official referring a complainant to the board.
HAPCAP's contract with the city expires Sept. 1 (the city renewed its contract with Donald B. Eager & Associates of Lancaster), but the agency will continue to serve the county. If a city resident were to contact the agency about a complaint, Ratliff said as long as it does not require a lot of hours filing paperwork, she will not turn someone away.
"People from all over the state contact us because they find some information on our Web site," she said. When that happens, she will help where she can and often refer the individual to the appropriate fair housing board in that county.
Ratliff said she can be reached at 592-6601 or 1-800-686-1093. The agency's Web site is www.hapcap.org.
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