Fair Housing Training

I apologize in advance for the length of this post and in the same respect I think Fair Housing and the training are two very important subjects.

The rest of what you will read is an email Rachelle Lacroix written on behalf of the NAA. Please take a moment. And, those of you at NAA, we hope you are having a blast!

My name is Rachelle and I’m getting in touch with Property Management on behalf of the National Apartment Association (NAA) and its Education Institute’s new “Fair Housing and Beyond” Course. Developed through a partnership with The Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), the course aims to educate the rental community on the issue of fair housing.

I wanted to reach out as I thought your readers would appreciate knowing the Association is taking steps to educate apartment managers, leasing consultants, maintenance technicians and apartment executives on fair housing violations as they continue to present day-to-day issues within the larger apartment housing community.

Now available in a facilitator-led classroom seminar, the 4.5 hour course will be accessible through NAA affiliates, IREM chapters or direct-to-real estate companies. Using self-assessments and realistic video narrative scenarios, the lesson trains learners to go “beyond the basics” to gain a more varied and nuanced understanding of fair housing. Additional details and participating information at: http://www.naahq.org/FairHousingBeyond

Below I’ve pasted a Q&A with Doug Chasick, Chief Learning Officer and Senior VP of Multifamily Professional Services for CallSource, a web based education provider, on what property managers should know about fair housing. Please feel free to share with your readers. Doug was one of a number of experts who consulted NAA and IREM on the course is regularly tapped for his property management expertise.

Thanks for reading, Mike. Should you like any additional details on the course, please feel free to get in touch – I’m happy to help.

Best,

Rachelle Lacroix

On behalf of NAA

202.857.2203

@rachellelacroix

Fair Housing Q&A with Doug Chasick, The CallSource Apartment Doctor and consultant for National Apartment Association Education Institute/IREM Fair Housing Course

1) What's something most property managers and renters are surprised to learn about fair housing?

I think the two most common surprises are that fair housing isn't always fair - it's actually not about being fair; and that common sense is not very helpful when dealing with many fair housing issues. I think a close third would be how much illegal discrimination is still going on.

2) Along with the National Apartment Association Education Institute and NAAEI/IREM course, what are some other resources that property managers can turn to for information?

Here are the sites I visit on at least a weekly basis:

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – www.hud.gov

• National Fair Housing Advocate – http://www.fairhousing.com/index.cfm

• Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Fair Housing Information – http://www.bazelon.org/issues/housing/index.htm

• Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST Initiative – http://www.fairhousingfirst.org/

• Realtor Fair Housing Resources – http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.nsf/pages/fairhousingmain?OpenDocument

• State and Local Fair Housing Enforcement – http://www.fairhousinglaw.org/fair_housing_laws/laws/

3) How often do you recommend staff and management participate in fair housing training?

At least annually, provided that there is one person in their company who regularly monitors the first two sites above and issues the appropriate updates to the entire team. I also strongly recommend that no employee, regardless of their title, be allowed to interact with residents, guests or prospects until they have completed a fair housing class.

4) What is the most violated mandate that you've encountered?

For the past four years it's been almost a tie between disability and race (see attached info - for full report, go to: http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/library/FairHousing-FY2007AnnualReport.pdf

For more information on the Fair Housing course and how you can order your own DVD, please visit http://www.naahq.org/FairHousingBeyond

Technorati Tags: Fair Housing, apartment leasing, apartments, property management, NAA

Comments

[Property Management]

hi,

its a gr8 job done by you .

i was in a gr8 need of these ... you have made my day.

thanks for sharing ur collection with everyone.