The Housing Rights Initiative (HRI), a nonprofit advocating for affordable housing, has filed 176 complaints accusing landlords and real estate professionals in the Chicago area of discrimination.
The complaints were filed with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and HRI describes their sting operation as the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history. The case was part of a nine-month undercover investigation by the HRI in which members of the organization posed as prospective renters in the Chicago area.
The investigators contacted hundreds of brokers and landlords by text message. HRI maintains that the nonprofit’s team of investigators found instances in which real estate agents, landlords and brokerage firms refused to accept housing applications using Section 8 vouchers, which is a federal program assisting low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities to secure affordable housing. The HRI found that those with vouchers were discriminated against about 36% of the time.
In cases shared with the press, brokers and agents would be interested in showing undercover investigators an apartment, until they found out the prospective renter was using a voucher. The agents said that they would need to check with the landlords. When they got back to the investigators, the agents said that the landlords were not accepting vouchers.
HRI states that it is illegal for Illinois landlords, brokers and agents to deny applicants who seek to use housing vouchers to pay their rent.
Joshya Murillo, deputy executive director of HRI, said that discrimination against voucher holders is not just a violation of the law, it’s a barrier that keeps families in Illinois from accessing stable and affordable housing. HRI’s investigation and filing are critical steps toward holding landlords and brokers accountable.
“Let this historic filing send an important message to every real estate player,” said Aaron Carr, founder, and executive director of the HRI. “No matter how empowered you feel over the next four years, you will be held accountable to the law. Break the law and it will not be a question of whether you get caught, but when.”
