News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:Friday, September 25, 1998
Contact:Mildrilyn Davis, Director Office of Housing, (703) 838-4990

City of Alexandria Releases Fair Housing Testing Report; Results Show Need for Greater Compliance with Fair Housing Laws
The City of Alexandria's Fair Housing Testing Program found that nine (56.3 percent) of 16 City real estate firms discriminated against Hispanics and/or African Americans, according to a just-published report from the Office of Housing. Testing occurred between September 1997 and May 1998 when testers approached representatives of local real estate firms for assistance in buying single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums.

The recent testing effort, based on race and national origin, is the City's first to focus on home buyers. Both the percentage of firms with problems and the percentage of problem tests are higher for real estate sales than for any previous testing involving rental properties carried out by the Fair Housing Testing Program. The City had previously tested for discrimination against prospective renters based on race, national origin, families with children, disability and sexual orientation.

Based on the results of the most recent tests, the City has filed housing discrimination complaints with the City's Human Rights Commission against three of the firms tested. Office of Housing staff will also meet with owners and managers of the other six firms to correct problems and to push for fair housing training for their employees.

To achieve maximum cooperation from the real estate firms, the names of the real estate companies found to be discriminating are not made public unless the Human Rights Commission decides to conduct a public hearing on the complaint.


Twenty-two people participated as testers in the current round of testing--11 whites, 7 African Americans and 4 Hispanics. Testers were divided into three teams, each team consisting of a pair of white and African American or white and Hispanic testers. Thirty percent of the initial tests were conducted by teams of Hispanic and white testers, and 70 percent of the initial tests were conducted by African American and white tester teams. The division of the tests between African Americans and Hispanics mirrors the City's minority population. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, the ratio of African Americans to Hispanics in Alexandria is 70/30; there were 24,557 African Americans and 10,440 people of Hispanic origin living in the City at that time.

Of 62 tests and retests conducted, single-family home buyers most frequently encountered discrimination--6 of 23 tests showed problems, or 26.1 percent. Prospective condominium buyers encountered problems in five of 20 tests, or 25 percent. Prospective townhouse buyers experienced the least amount of discrimination--3 of 19 tests, or 15.8 percent. There were 23 tests for single-family sales, 20 for condominium sales, and 19 for townhouses.

Testers encountered unequal treatment in four areas: 1) the mortgage loan amount the prospective buyer is told he or she can qualify for; 2) the number of available property listings given to the prospective buyer; 3) the ease or difficulty in meeting with an agent; and 4) information provided to the prospective buyer other than real estate listings--such as real estate guides.

The Fair Housing Testing Program Advisory Committee, which is appointed by City Council, oversees the testing program. The City trains and provides stipends to pairs of testers who test for evidence of housing discrimination. If such evidence exists, complaints may be filed with the Human Rights Office, which seeks to promote fair housing opportunities in accordance with the City's Human Rights Code. The Code outlaws discriminatory practices in the sale, rental, financing or advertising of housing based on race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation or disability. The Human Rights Office investigates a claim to find out whether discrimination occurred and attempts to conciliate the case between the Fair Housing Testing Program and the respondent.

The results of the real estate sales tests underscore the need for across-the-board industry training in fair housing, according to Mildrilyn Davis, director of the Office of Housing. Office of Housing staff will conduct this training on request for real estate firms on a City-wide basis.




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Note to Editors: Copies of the Report on the Results of Real Estate Sales Testing are available upon request from the Office on Housing (838-4990).