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Fair Housing testers needed

With only a month left in the year, the Southeastern Ohio Legal Services office is seeking applicants to complete training and operate as paid fair housing testers.

Before the coronavirus shutdown, the Marietta Fair Housing Board met on May 8 with Peggy Lee, senior staff attorney with the regional legal office, about fair housing testing and what legal steps would be needed for the city to complete such testing.

While discord between members of that defunct board and the development administrator Mike Gulliver led to the resignation of board members in the spring and summer, the city administration ultimately contracted with the legal office to perform the tests on behalf of the city and through the use of unspent federal Community Development Block Grant dollars.

“We need to do a certain amount by the end of the year for the city to fulfill the grant,” explained Lee.

Note: consolidated planning for the same grant’s future spending in fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023 still remains incomplete by the city administration hence why the single-year budget for 2021 Community Development Block Grant funding has stalled in legislative action by Marietta City Council.

But rather than lawyers completing the calls to landlords in the area, Lee explained this week, paid volunteer testers would conduct the work after the successful passage of a background check and completion of training.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old and cannot have a conviction of fraud, perjury or any other felony offense on their record.

“Ultimately, courts have found testers and their information to be evidentiary quality material for court if it has to go to court,” Lee described. “That’s why we have to have to undergo a background check, so there are no credibility issues.”

Current landlords, property managers and realtors are not eligible to be testers, due to the nature of their professional roles and the confidentiality of the calls.

Instead, Lee explained, the office is seeking a diverse set of applicants with good communication skills to operate when called upon to perform the public service.

“You have to be able to stay in character and be very detail-oriented in how you report what happened,” she described. “Because there’s a detailed form that you have to fill out upon completion of every test that you do.”

Fair housing testing, she explained, operates similarly to the concept of mystery shoppers, checking public listings of for-rent properties and posing as a potential tenant seeking an application.

Then, by documenting that interaction (which during the pandemic will predominately consist of phone calls) the tester aids the office in determining whether a landlord may need further investigation for potential violations of fair housing law against protected classes.

“So the protected classes under the federal Fair Housing Act are race, color, national origin, religion, sex– meaning gender, familial status–meaning families with children, and disability status. And the state adds on to that ancestry and military status,” explained Lee.

But, she noted, discrimination can also be more subtle than outright denial of housing, in the application of additional fees.

“A huge issue for our program that we see regularly is emotional support animals,” she described. “Folks who have a disability of some kind (and) require having an emotional support animal (are sometimes) being denied because of the landlord trying to enforce a no-pet clause.”

In instances where the individual has a disability, she explained, the argument can be made against the exclusion or addition fee upon a tenant.

“Emotional support animals are not pets,” she explained. “It’s not supposed to cost any more for a disabled person to enjoy their premises than a non-disabled person.”

This new program will not only impact Marietta, she explained, since the office has obtained additional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant dollars to perform the tests across the 32-county coverage of the office.

Successful applicants will be compensated upon the completion of their background check, training and first practice test. Then testers will be compensated by the test thereafter.

Interested applicants may call Lee at 740-594-3558 or send an email to info@appalachianohiofairhousing.org for more information.

Janelle Patterson may be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.

At a glance:

What is a fair housing tester?

Testers are community members who undergo training to pose as a potential tenant or homebuyer.

Testers meet with a rental or sales agent and record the details of their interactions. Information gathered by testers may be used to enforce fair housing laws. Hours vary and are flexible.

How to apply:

¯ Applicants must be at least 18 years old and cannot have a conviction for fraud, perjury or any other felony offense.

¯ Applicants must have good communication skills, attention to detail and a commitment to civil rights.

¯ Applicants who pass background checks will receive training and perform a practice test prior to receiving testing assignments. Testers are paid for the completion of the training program and each completed test.

For more information on becoming a tester, please call the Testing Coordinator Peggy Lee at 740-594-3558 or send an email to info@appalachianohiofairhousing.org.

Note: Current landlords, property managers and realtors are not eligible to be testers.

Source: Southeastern Ohio Legal Services.

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