What We Do:
The Fair Housing Team seeks to inform housing providers and consumers about fair housing rights and responsibilities, encourage State-funded housing providers to promote fair housing choice, and enlist decision-makers to advance the cause of fair housing.
Discrimination is defined by the Kansas Human Rights Commission as any direct or indirect exclusion, distinction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or any other differentiation or preference in the treatment of a person or persons on account of race or color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, familial status, or disability and/or, but not be limited to, any practice that produces a demonstrable racial or ethnic effect without a valid business purpose.
Who We Help:
Those helped include all Kansans who exercise the right of choice, the right to live where they want to live, to raise a family or own a home in dignity and without fear of discrimination. Apartment dwellers and homeowners, property managers, real estate agents, interest groups, and individuals, all benefit from the educational information and training workshops offered.
How It Works:
The final rule for the Consolidated Plan, issued on January 5, 1995, requires all states and entitlement communities to complete an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice and submit the report to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In response to this mandate, the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation created the Fair Housing Team. The team acts as an advisory group to the Kansas Department of Commerce (Commerce), Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).
The Fair Housing Team developed an analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice from a statewide survey conducted in 1996 and last updated in 2009. Subsequently, a Fair Housing Action Plan has been developed to address discrimination report in the survey results.
The Fair Housing Team consists of representatives from Commerce, KHRC, KDHE, and representatives from fair housing organizations across the state. The team generally meets on a quarterly basis to coordinate activities that will further fair housing choice in Kansas.