Enlarge John Trasvina, Katiuska Munoz Colmont and David Colmont talking at panel.

Posted: September 11th, 2011 Tonya Jameson

Asking for social security cards, implementing separate terms for different renters and requiring applicants to speak fluent English are only a few ways landlords discriminate against renters. On Thursday, nearly 200 people from various organizations throughout the region met at the National Origin Discrimination and Fair Housing For Immigrants workshop to get the latest information about fair housing.

The meeting at the Hilton Center City was one of several that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have held in cities throughout the country to educate community organizations about fair housing. In Charlotte, organizations representing Hispanics/Latinos, Africans, Asians and other ethnic minorities came out for a day of speakers and panel discussions. John Trasviña, assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at HUD, was the keynote speaker.

David Youngblood, HUD Greensboro director, said the department hosted the meeting to target organizations that work with clients from immigrant communities. Often these clients go to organizations such as the Latin America Coalition because they don’t know their rights.

“There’s a deficit of knowledge,” Youngblood said. “We want to raise awareness of their rights.”

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on familial status, race, sex, handicap, color, religion and national origin.

During the day’s workshop, members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee spoke about the region’s changing demographics. Others talked about English proficiency, the legality of inquiring about immigration status, discrimination based on national origin and immigration legislation. One person asked about discrimination at transitional housing and homeless shelters.

Youngblood said the country’s rapidly changing demographics have exacerbated discrimination issues, and landlords have become more creative in discrimination tactics. For example, potential renters or homebuyers are being discriminated against based on their English proficiency, accents and surname. There have been examples of landlords enforcing certain terms of the lease with some renters but not others.

“The individuals who want to discriminate are more clever,” Youngblood said.

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