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Programs and Services
Complaint
Investigation To file a housing discrimination complaint, please call the Council to complete a complaint intake during the Council’s normal business hours of Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A complaint intake can also be done in person by appointment only. There are no fees for consumers and consumers can remain anonymous—not give their name. Testing
Program Victim
Advocacy South
Texas Fair Housing Project
The Council’s programs and services, such as complaint investigation, testing, advocacy, and education & outreach are available to consumers living in this South Texas service area. To file a complaint, request a fair housing presentation, and/or just ask questions about your rights, contact our San Antonio office at (210) 733-3247, ext. 101. The
Directory of Accessible Housing In determining an apartment complex and/or housing facility’s eligibility for inclusion in The Directory of Accessible Housing, the Fair Housing Council considered whether the complex/facility had wheelchair accessible dwelling units, whether the complex/facility provided housing targeted for the elderly and/or people with disabilities, and whether the complex/facility participated in any housing assistance programs funded by the local, state, or federal government. Visit www.accessiblehousing.org to search for housing that meets your needs, to learn about laws dealing with accessibility in housing, or to add your apartment complex and/or housing facility to The Directory of Accessible Housing. Education
and Outreach In addition, the Council participates in community fairs, tenant association meetings, housing task force meetings, etc. because it is committed to educating housing consumers about how to recognize and report housing discrimination. In addition, the Council aims to prevent harmful and unlawful discrimination by educating housing providers as to the nature and meaning of the fair housing laws. If you are interested in having the Council conduct a fair housing presentation to your staff, tenants, and/or clientele, please feel free to contact Sandra Tamez, Executive Director, at (210) 733-3247, ext. 106. TDHCA Approved
Fair Housing Training While TDHCA does not offer the training, it does provide a listing of approved fair housing training providers, one of which is the Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio. Please contact our office to find out about upcoming fair housing training sessions and fees. Press
Releases RELMAN COLFAX SUES SAN ANTONIO AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TENANTS WITH DISABILITIES On March 9, 2021, the law firm of Relman Colfax PLLC filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a large San Antonio, Texas housing development and management company discriminates against low-income tenants with disabilities who need reasonable modifications to use and enjoy their apartments. The litigation—brought on behalf of the Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio—alleges that HomeSpring Residential Services and affiliated companies violate the Fair Housing Act and other federal and state fair housing laws by refusing to honor contractual obligations to approve and pay for such modifications. The Council’s federal complaint describes how defendants have failed to provide and pay for disability-related reasonable modifications, such as grab bars in the bathroom or lower peepholes and closet rods; failed to properly engage with tenants who request reasonable modifications; and has made tenants provide unnecessary documentation about their disabilities and need for modifications. These policies have created dangerous conditions for tenants with disabilities and kept them from being able to use all aspects of their homes. Read the full Press Release HERE PRESS RELEASE May 2, 2018 FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL OF GREATER SAN ANTONIO FILES FEDERAL HOUSING DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST LOCAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES On May 2, 2018, the Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio (“FHCOGSA”) filed a federal lawsuit against apartment management companies Texas Regional Asset Management, L.L.C.; Vesta Corporation; El Patrimonio Apartments, L.P.; and Gates of Capernum Apartments, L.P. (“Defendants”) for discriminating against families with children in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit alleges that Defendants enforce unreasonable and discriminatory rules against families with children at the apartment complexes that they manage throughout South Texas. Defendants, for example, enforce strict curfews after which parents and their children cannot be anywhere outside of their immediate apartment units (including their own patios), which precludes tenants with children from accessing amenities and common areas that tenants without children can access without restriction. Defendants also prohibit children from being supervised on Defendants’ properties by any adult other than a parent. Tenants who violate Defendants’ rules for families with children are faced with hundreds of dollars in fines or eviction. Read the full Press Release HERE March 27, 2018 FACEBOOK SUED BY CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS FOR DISCRIMINATION IN ONLINE HOUSING ADVERTISEMENT On March 27, 2018, the National Fair Housing Alliance (“NFHA”) and three of its member organizations (Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio, Fair Housing Justice Center, and Housing Opportunities for Excellence, Inc.), filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Inc. in federal court in New York City, alleging that Facebook’s advertising platform enables landlords and real estate brokers to exclude families with children, women, and other protected classes of people from receiving housing ads. With almost 2 billion users, Facebook customizes the audience for its millions of advertisers based on its vast trove of personalized user data. After being warned repeatedly about its discriminatory advertising practices, Facebook continues to use this data to deny people access to rental housing and real estate sales ads because of their sex and family status. Read the full Press Release HERE April 28, 2017 SAN ANTONIO FAIR HOUSING ORGANIZATION FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST LOCAL LANDLORDS On April 28, 2017, the Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio (“FHCOGSA”) filed a federal housing discrimination lawsuit in the United States District Court of the Western District of Texas against Ana and Michael Litofsky, who, based on FHCOGSA’s investigation, own and manage hundreds of properties in the San Antonio-area. The lawsuit alleges that Ana and Michael Litofsky refused to show or rent available housing units to prospective tenants who indicated that they had children. The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of familial status. Read the full Press Release HERE FREE FAIR HOUSING TRAININGS VIA ZOOM VIDEO CONFERENCING The Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that works to promote fair housing through complaint investigation, advocacy, testing, and education and outreach. As part of our outreach efforts, the Fair Housing Council offers fair housing trainings for housing providers in order to educate them about their responsibilities under the federal Fair Housing Act. In addition, our office offers fair housing trainings for tenant advocates in order to provide them with the tools to assist consumers facing housing problems. If you are a housing provider or tenant advocate in our South Texas service area, then contact our office to request a free, customizable Zoom virtual training. You can customize the training, chose the date/time/length of the training, and select the topics of your choice such as, reasonable accommodations in community rules, discriminatory advertising, LGBTQ+ protections, structural modifications to dwelling units, overly restrictive rules regarding kids, sexual harassment, accessibility requirements for apartments, etc. We offer a limited number of free fair housing trainings per year. So contact us today to reserve your free training! If you are interested in scheduling a free fair housing training or want more information, please contact Sandra Tamez, Executive Director, at (210) 733-3247, ext. 106. TO BE ANNOUNCED DATE:
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