NY should fund testing to uncover housing bias, state Realtor group says
The state should provide funding to hire testers to uncover housing bias by real estate agents, a statewide Realtors group said. Credit: Newsday/John Keating
New York should provide “immediate” funding to hire testers to uncover housing bias by real estate agents, the New York State Association of Realtors said Thursday.
The state should amend its budget for the fiscal year starting April 1 to provide “immediate funding to establish and maintain a fair housing tester program,” the Albany-based real estate industry association said in a statement. The state also should increase maximum fines for illegal discrimination to $2,500, from the current maximum of $1,000, with revenues helping to fund the testing program.
In paired testing, two people with equivalent qualifications but different races – or another characteristic protected by state law, such as disability, religion or family status – meet with real estate agents to see if they receive equal treatment.
“We believe that this is a serious enough issue that we need to address it as comprehensively as possible,” said Duncan MacKenzie, chief executive officer of the 59,000-member association. “We agree, along with fair-housing advocates, that testing is probably the most effective way to ensure compliance with fair housing laws.”
The proposal comes after Newsday’s three-year Long Island Divided investigation, which found evidence of widespread racial discrimination by Long Island real estate agents. In the investigation’s 86 paired tests, blacks were treated unequally 49% of the time, Hispanics 39% and Asians 19%, in the judgment of two fair-housing experts.
If they are put into effect, NYSAR’s proposals “could have huge impacts in stopping discrimination from happening in the first place,” said Kevin Dwarka, an urban planner and land use attorney who conducts fair-housing training programs on Long Island. “Right now, enforcement depends on a homeseeker having to report an incident of discrimination. But the homeseeker may not realize that an agent is steering them to certain neighborhoods or directing them away from others. And even if the homeseeker realizes that they are experiencing discrimination, they may not have the time or energy to file a complaint.”
NYSAR’s proposals go beyond the changes announced last month by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. In December, Cuomo unveiled proposed new regulations that would require real estate agents to inform customers of their rights under fair-housing laws and mandate video recording of the classes agents take to learn about fair-housing laws.
At the time, fair-housing advocates said the state’s proposal did not go far enough.
There’s “no harm” in educating consumers about their rights, Elaine Gross, president of Syosset-based ERASE Racism, said last month. But, she said, generally people who face subtle bias “don’t even recognize that they’re being discriminated against.”
On Thursday, Cuomo spokeswoman Caitlin Girouard said the governor "is committed to vigorously enforcing New York’s fair housing laws and fighting housing discrimination across the state and on Long Island.
"The state is investigating Newsday's troubling allegations of housing discrimination practices by Long Island real estate agents and has issued new regulations for real estate professionals that are currently undergoing mandated public review," Girouard said. "The results will reflect future procedures and potential legislative proposals." She added that the governor's office will "work with the legislature and review any and all additional measures to help crack down on housing discrimination.”
NYSAR’s chief executive said Thursday the group also supports other changes, including more rigorous standards for agents’ state-mandated training. The state requires agents to take 22.5 hours of continuing education, including three hours on fair housing, to renew their licenses. NYSAR said the state should require all fair-housing instructors to undergo specialized training in fair housing, get certified every two years and focus their classes only on fair housing, rather than combining the topic with other subjects.
NYSAR suspended its fair-housing classes and required all its instructors to be re-trained by fair housing groups after Newsday’s investigation was published.
NYSAR “has a long history of advocating for the expansion of fair housing law,” the group said in its statement Thursday. It currently supports proposed State Senate legislation that would require more transparency when buyers seek to purchase co-ops. Sponsors of the bill say it is intended to protect buyers from illegal discrimination.
In 2006, NYSAR advocated for New York to mandate fair-housing education as part of the required continuing education that real estate agents and many brokers must receive in order to renew their licenses.
Maura McDermott covers health care and other business news on Long Island.
