Sentinel Fair Housing

Testing can be a valuable tool to investigate housing market practices and to document illegal housing discrimination to identify and to challenge the discriminatory housing practices that persist in the rental and sale of housing.

To ensure that tests are reliable sample, Fair Housing agencies recruit and train volunteer testers from all of the protected classes covered by the fair housing laws. Testers complete a HUD approved training program that includes practice testing and thorough evaluation of their perform- ance prior to their being assigned to carry out testing as- signment. All testers reports are reviewed by a fair housing specialist to determine whether disparate treatment has taken place.

Information and education are the first steps to end dis- crimination and testing provides such information. On the one hand, testing evidence is used to help consumers to understand if they were in fact victims of housing discrimi- nation and to have evidence to support an administrative complaint or a lawsuit if necessary. On the other hand, this information can help the property owners, community, the housing industry and fair housing advocates to design their educational activities to reduce discriminatory practices and maintain an open housing market throughout the State.

Testers are community members who have interest and com- mitment to fair housing. They act as neutral home-seeker and are never confrontational to any owner or manager. You will not recognize them as testers.

Now you have the information. Challenge discrimination.

Would you like to become a tester