Record Number of Housing Discrimination Filed in 2008

Wow. Nationally, 10,552 complaints, 44% on basis of disability and 35% on basis of race.

The sad thing is, despite how many complaints were filed, it's still nowhere near the actual number of discrimination that happens. Very often discrimination is more subtle than the old days when landlords could openly advertise for "Whites Only" or "Protestants Only" or refuse to rent to single mothers, etc.

Today's discrimination are more in the vein of "sorry, we rented it already" or even simply encouraging favored applicants while subtly discouraging other applicants by not giving them the same information or downplaying the unit. Discrimination even may be unconscious with the landlord being unaware that he/she is doing it. Discrimination can also be structural with housing being built that does not have the required accessibility under Fair Housing.

To their credit, Waukesha County CDBG has given the Metropolitian Milwaukee Fair Housing Council funding to investigate possible discrimination in Waukesha County.

To find out more about Fair Housing rights, check out HUD.