Prometheus 6

In St. Louis, a mother complained a landlord told her he wouldn't rent to families with pets or children.

In Worcester, Mass., a man with kidney disease said a landlord refused to rent to him because his disability was "too much baggage."

In San Jose, Calif., Hispanic families complained their apartment manager spoke disparagingly of Mexicans and gave their repair requests lower priority.

In Chesterfield, Va., a black woman said a white property owner told her the house she was interested in "will not be sold to coloreds."

"It was like he had just punched me," said Nealie Pitts, 59, whose eyes still fill with tears when she talks about the 2002 incident.

Growing number of allege unfair treatment in housing market
By Deborah Barfield Berry and Robert Benincasa, Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — Nearly 40 years after a national law banned housing discrimination, an increasing number of complaints are alleging unfair treatment of minorities, the disabled, families and other groups.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and housing assistance agencies logged 10,328 complaints last year, a 12% jump from 2005. That's the highest number since HUD started keeping track in 1990, when it included complaints from the disabled and families with children.

"Some people want to say these are things that happened in the old days," said Kim Kendrick, assistant secretary for HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "It doesn't happen in the old days. It happens today."

A Gannett News Service analysis of 44,000 housing discrimination complaints filed between 2002 and 2006 with HUD and its contract agencies shows allegations of unfair treatment are widely dispersed across the nation.