City Of Dubuque To Area Landlords: Beware Of Fair Housing Ambush Patrol On The Hunt For Prohibited Discrimination When Renting Apartments; Hunting Season To Begin Soon

In Dubuque, Iowa, the Telegarph Herald reports:

• City of Dubuque officials hope data gathered during a series of upcoming landlord tests will expose any fair housing issues in the community.
  
  Rental property owners, however, consider the exercise an unnecessary inconvenience, according to Jerry Maro, president of Dubuque Area Landlords Association. “I think with our landlord association, everybody is pretty fair about renting their properties,” he said.
  
  City Council members [] signed off on a proposal from Fair Housing Center of Nebraska and Iowa to conduct the testing this fall. The organization will be paid up to $24,000 to evaluate how prospective tenants’ race or use of housing vouchers affects their renting experiences.
  
  The testing based on protected classes is “in furtherance” of objectives spelled out in a voluntary compliance agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to a memo from Assistant City Attorney Crenna Brumwell.
  
  That agreement followed a 2013 report from the federal agency condemning the city’s administration of the Housing Choice Voucher program. HUD officials determined that black, out-of-state applicants were inordinately excluded from the program, also known as Section 8.
  
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  Maro said landlords have been made aware of the impending study, but members of his association think the testing is a nuisance. “I guess, for most of us, basically it’s an inconvenience,” Maro said. “Because we’re answering a phone and we don’t know if it’s somebody looking for an apartment or if it’s somebody testing us.”
  
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  The nonprofit center also will be paid $8,360 to evaluate rental housing on the basis of disability and the presence of companion or therapeutic animals, Brumwell said. “The reason for recommending that is people with physical or mental disabilities, the number is increasing,” she said.

For the story, see Dubuque landlord: Protected class testing an 'inconvenience'.