In another instance of violation of the Fair Housing Act, a Mexican-American couple suffered discrimination while trying to lease a park lot in Minnesota.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the owners and manager of Rainbow Terrace Mobile Home Park for making discriminatory statements about the national origin of the Mexican American couple, HUD said in a press release.
It was alleged that the park’s manager said she did “not want any more Mexicans" living at the mobile home park because they were "too much trouble." On investigation, HUD found that other Mexican Americans, too, were subjected to such derogatory remarks by the manager.
“Discrimination has no home in America. Mobile home residents do not have to accept derogatory statements based on their national origin when trying to rent,” stated John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD is committed to combating all violations of the Fair Housing Act.”
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
This is not the first case this month. On August 8, the HUD had released a statement charging the owners and managers of Heritage Point Mobile Home Park in Montgomery, Alabama for violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent a lot in the park to an African American family.
Similarly, another complaint was levied against Huntsville Utilities alleging that the company discriminated against prospective customers based on national origin. However, the HUD and Huntsville Utilities agreed on a settlement wherein the company will administer fair housing training to its employees and conduct periodic testing to ensure that it is offering its services to every applicant equally. In addition, the company will donate $5,000 to a local Alabama non-profit organization that serves the Latino community, a statement issued by HUD said.
