Fair Housing Center of Eastern Michigan (FHC)

The Fair Housing Center of Eastern Michigan, a nonprofit, tax-exempt private organization, was established in Genesee County in October of 1988 to address fair housing issues in the area. In 2004, a Fair Housing Center was established in Saginaw to handle fair housing issues in Saginaw, Bay and Midland Counties. The FHC’s seek to assure equal access to housing without discrimination. 

Fair Housing Laws

Fair housing laws exist  at the local level, the state level (Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act as amended and The Michigan Handicappers Act), and federal level (1866 Civil Rights Act and Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act as amended.

Federal law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability status. Michigan law adds age and marital status. Local ordinances in Michigan normally include all of those and others, such as sexual orientation or lawful sources of income. Sexual orientation is a protected class if the property is federally subsidized.

Enforcement of fair housing laws is either through an administrative complaint process (local, state, federal) or by private legal action brought in state or federal court. Remedies include the possibility of orders to complete a transaction (grant occupancy), to provide monetary compensation to the plaintiff (for actual cost, compensatory and/or punitive damages and attorney fees), and orders to correct past unlawful practices and/or affirmatively correct the effects of such past practices.