[CIVIL. REG.,022096,0800]


Housing Tests

(Iowa Civil Rights Commission; 02/20/96; 0800)



IOWA CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION CONDUCTS HOUSING TESTS IN OTTUMWA

On December 28 and 29, 1995, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) conducted 26 housing tests in the city of Ottumwa, Iowa and found one possible violation of federal and State anti-discrimination laws.

In that test, the landlord discouraged the tester from making application for the advertised rental unit. The tester asked if she could install, at her expense, hand rails in the stairway and grab bars in the bathroom in order to accommodate her husband's disability. The landlord said, "it would be real tough because the walls, well, because of the walls. Some of them are brick. All the outer walls are brick and it's old brick and you couldn't. It's awful tough to put anything solid on these walls and I don't know. Oh, I tell you it sounds like a lot."

Fair housing laws require landlords to allow persons with disabilities to make reasonable modifications of existing premises if necessary to occupy and enjoy full use of the premises. The modifications are to be done at the tenant's expense. A landlord may oversee the modifications and, where reasonable to do so, condition permission for modification on the tenant's agreement to restore the premises to the condition that existed before the modification, reasonable wear and tear excepted.

Under the current testing program funded by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the ICRC is testing landlords and realtors to determine whether applicants for rental units are treated differently because of race, disability, or familial status.

Since February 15, 1995, the ICRC has conducted 638 tests of landlords and realtors in thirty-six Iowa communities and found 110 possible violations of fair housing laws.

The ICRC has recently published a new, 16-page Fair Housing Guide which is free upon request. For a copy, contact the ICRC's public education officer, Carol Leach, at 515-281- 8354.

Persons seeking housing, as well as persons providing housing, need to know and understand their rights and responsibilities under the federal and State fair housing laws. The ICRC's new Fair Housing Guide explains the content of the fair housing laws by giving examples of situations that arise in housing transactions and by offering fair housing guidance.