Published: May 17, 2008 08:00 pm         

Workshop details housing act

The Beckley Human Rights Commission hosted a workshop on fair housing April 28 at the Beckley-Raleigh county Convention Center.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act. But how much do you know about the act and its impact on your life, your business or your community? What are your rights as a citizen? What are your responsibilities as a landlord? What is the process to file a Fair Housing complaint? What’s the difference between reasonable modification and reasonable accommodations?

These and other questions were answered at the workshop which featured speakers Robert Cannon, chief of the Beckley Code Enforcement Department; Manuel Cartelle, director of the Beckley Housing Authority; and David Stewart, Fair Housing consultant for Eastlake, Derry and Associates.

The workshop provided education and assistance to housing professionals and the human rights community to promote compliance with the federal Fair Housing Act, the substantially equivalent West Virginia Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination regarding the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap and family status.

The free workshop was sponsored by the Northern West Virginia Center for Independent Living and funded by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Housing Initiatives Program grant.

The workshop was open to architects, landlords, developers, builders, contractors, code enforcement officers, building inspectors, social service directors, case managers, advocates, other housing professionals and interested members of the human rights community.

Although continuing education credits for architects, Realtors, and builders were not provided during the workshop, they will be provided during the 2009 Fair Housing Workshop. More information about that will be published at a later date.