Fair Housing - John Bradbury - John P. Bradbury

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Law Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWLaw Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWIMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS A broker can take the following steps to ensurecompliance with fair housing laws: Use the "Equal Employment Opportunity" slogan inall employment advertising and take appropriatesteps to ensure a broad range of potential recruits. Require that salespeople educate sellers regardingtheir fair housing obligations by providing them withfair housing brochures and other information, andrefuse to accept listings from sellers who do notagree to abide by fair housing requirements.IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS In addition, the National Association of REALTORSsuggests posting a sign stating that it is againstcompany policy as well as state and federal laws tooffer any information on the racial, ethnic, or religiouscomposition of a neighborhood or to place restrictionson listing, showing, or providing information on theavail-ability of homes for any of these reasons.Law Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWLaw Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWIMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS If a prospect still expresses a location preference forhousing based on race, the association's guidelinessuggest the following response: "I cannot give you thatkind of advice. I will show you several homes that meetyour specifica-tions. You will have to decide which oneyou want."IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS A broker's responsibility for the discriminatorybehavior of his or her salespeople presents uniqueproblems. Although brokers may wish to limit theircontrol of salespeople to protect the salesperson'sindependent contractor status, effective control ofbehavior in the area of fair housing is essential toprotect the broker from liability under civil rights laws.Law Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWLaw Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWIMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS Brokers should have formal office policies regardingdiscriminatory behavior, and they should require thatsales-people acknowledge in writing that theyunderstand those policies and that they have receivedadequate training to be aware of the requirements ofthe fair housing laws.IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS In addition, brokers must have some system formonitoring the activities of salespeople in regard to fairhousing compliance.
Law Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWLaw Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWIMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS One way to do this is through a record-keeping systemthat requires that salespeople keep a record of allpros-pects, including the prospects' qualifyinginformation, the properties that were identified for theprospects, and the prospects' reactions to eachindividual property.IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS Periodic review of such records by the broker will helpidentify any instances where a salesperson may be inviolation of fair housing standards.Law Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWLaw Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWIMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS Discrimination involves a sensitive area, humanemotions. The broker or salesperson who complieswith the law still has to deal with a general publicwhose attitudes cannot be altered by legislation alone.Therefore, a licensee who wishes to comply with thefair housing laws and also succeed in the real estatebusiness must work to educate the public.IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS In recent years brokers sometimes have been caught inthe middle when local governments enacted wellmeaningreverse discrimination regulations. In-tendedto preserve racial balance in given areas, local lawssometimes run counter to federal and state rules,posing a real problem for the conscientious licensee.Law Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWLaw Office of John P. Bradbury PLLCFive Penn Plaza, 23rd Floor(212) 697-3529New York Real Estate Lawyerswww.NYRELAW.com(212) NYRELAWIMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS TESTERSFrom time to time real estate offices are visited bytesters or checkers, under-cover investigators whowant to see whether all customers and clients arebeing treated with the same cordiality and are beingoffered the same free choice within a given price range.IMPLICATIONS FOR BROKERSAND SALESPERSONS TESTERSFor example, two testers-one black and one white-withsimilar qualifications and interests may separately visita real estate office to inquire about properties. If thetwo testers are treated differently by the office or areshown a different range of properties, it may be anindication of unlawful discriminatory behavior by theoffice.
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