Fair Housing Complaints & Enforcement

The Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit receives complaints of housing discrimination. If you have questions or believe you have experienced discrimination, please email info@fairhousingdetroit.org or call 313-579-3247.


Please include your name, contact information, and a brief description of the incident.


What Happens Next

Once we receive your message, a staff member will reach out to gather additional details and discuss potential next steps. All identity and allegation details provided to our office are kept strictly confidential.

Fair Housing Brochures - Detroit, MI - Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit

Important Safety & Retaliation Guidance

  • Retaliation is illegal: Housing providers cannot intimidate, threaten, or take negative action against anyone for exercising their fair housing rights. Report any retaliation to our office immediately.
  • Keep your inquiry private: We strongly advise against telling your housing provider that you have contacted our office, as doing so may compromise a future investigation.


Service Area & Accessibility

  • Eligibility: We serve residents of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and St. Clair counties. If your issue falls outside these counties, we will connect you with the appropriate resources.
  • Cost & Accommodations: All services are 100% free of charge. Language translation and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation are available at no cost.

Fair Housing Brochures

The Fair Housing Center also distributes brochures on a variety of fair housing topics. The most common non-English languages in the Center’s service area are Arabic and Spanish. These brochures are available in English, Arabic, and Spanish. Please contact our office if you would like copies of our brochures.

 

The brochures can also be downloaded and printed free of charge using the following link:

Fair Housing Brochures

Education & Training

Fair Housing Brochures - Detroit, MI - Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit

Fair Housing Trainings & Webinars

The Fair Housing Center provides a broad range of fair housing trainings and webinars, including compliance and best practices. Webinars, videos, and PowerPoints of our past training--and there are very many--are listed on this page below. For upcoming trainings and webinars, please jump to our Events & Trainings page.


Each year, the Center trains housing providers, management companies, real estate agents and brokers, private, municipal and legal services attorneys, municipalities, tenants, homeowners, and new homebuyers. Our trainings are offered in person and via Zoom


We also assist housing providers in establishing and maintaining best practices in sales, rental, and management of residential properties. Our training topics keep participants up to date on the current standards, policy statements and guidance, and recent court decisions.


On an informal basis, the Center is always available to answer fair housing and general housing-related questions.


Fair Housing Brochures

The Fair Housing Center also distributes brochures on a variety of fair housing topics. Our brochures include:


  • "Your Fair Housing Rights"
  • “Fair Housing Guidance for Condominium, Cooperative and Homeowners' Associations"
  • "Fair Housing Rights of Persons With Disabilities"
  • "Fair Housing Rights of Persons Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing or Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision”
  • "Fair Housing Rights of Persons With Disabilities to Reasonable Accommodations for Assistance Animals"
  • "Fair Housing for Families With Children"
  • “Fair Housing & Occupancy Standards”
  • “Fair Housing & Sexual Harassment”
  • “Tenants’ Rights”


Please contact our office if you would like copies of our brochures.

Rental Assistance

Please note that the Fair Housing Center is not a housing provider. We do not have listings of homes for sales or rental. Nor are we funded to provide financial assistance, such as money for security deposits or rental assistance.


For financial assistance or for assistance in locating rental housing, please visit the Rental Resources page on the Michigan State Housing Development Authority's website or other online resources. 

The Fair Housing Center provides a broad range of fair housing training, including compliance and best practices. Proper training can prevent most, if not all, fair housing violations. There is no conflict between fair housing compliance and business objectives. We assist housing providers in establishing and maintaining best practices in sales, rental, and management of residential properties. Our training topics keep participants up to date on the current standards, policy statements and guidance, and recent court decisions including:

  • Emotional support animals, environmental illnesses, and hoarding.
  • Reasonable accommodations and modifications.
  • Addressing the needs of the Deaf, Deaf, Blind, and Hard of Hearing community and Veterans.
  • Familial status and occupancy limits.
  • Use of criminal records, including Detroit’s new “Fair Chance” ordinance.
  • Medical marijuana.
  • National origin and alienage status.
  • Housing provider liability for tenant-on-tenant harassment.
  • Affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) requirements.
  • Sexual harassment in housing.
  • Coverage of claims based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and transgender status.
  • Racial, ethnic, and religious harassment and hostile living environment.
  • Permissible and impermissible housing provider inquiries.
  • Housing for older persons.
  • Limited English proficiency.
  • Fair Housing Act’s design and construction requirements.


Each year, the Center trains housing providers, management companies, real estate agents and brokers, private, municipal and legal services attorneys, municipalities, tenants, and homeowners.

 

We also offer training in person and via teleconference.

 

On an informal basis, the Center is always available to answer fair housing and general housing-related questions.

Animals Training - Detroit, MI - Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit

Community Outreach

In addition to education and training, the Center participates in many community outreach activities. Oakland County and Royal Oak sponsored the Center with a booth at their annual Arts, Beats & Eats festival on Labor Day Weekend in Royal Oak. Thousands of visitors at the festival became aware of the Center and its work.

 

As a result of the Center’s involvement with Arise Detroit, the Center participated in this year’s Neighborhoods Day in Detroit’s Eastern Market. The Center also participated in a Halloween “Trick or Treat Off the Street” event, helping us connect with hundreds of local families, giving out candy, and making parents aware of their fair housing rights.

Arts Beats And Eats Logo
Community Outreach - Detroit, MI - Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit

The Fair Housing Center had a booth at the annual Neighborhoods Rising Summit at Wayne County Community College’s Downtown Detroit campus. At the summit, the Center answered general fair housing questions and specific questions about gentrification. Center staff participated in a three-day fair housing roadshow in Pontiac and Detroit where we provided education on various fair housing topics. The Center also participated in the “Evening of Remembrance” event by Ascension Healthcare Open Arms.

 

The Fair Housing Center regularly works with neighborhood groups, community organizations, and other service providers to help promote and achieve more racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

Fair Housing Webinars, PowerPoints, and Resources

Introduction & Overview For Occupants: Essential Fair Housing Rights

Introduction & Overview - For Housing Providers: Fair Housing Compliance Check

American Sign Language (ASL) & Fair Housing Requirements

Basics of Fair Housing Enforcement

Fair Housing Newsletters

To stay current on fair housing issues, please review our latest News & Updates and sign up for our Newsletter. The following are links to our recent newsletters: