Commenter:
Helen O'Beirne, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc.
CIC Employees Should Receive Fair Housing Tranining
On behalf of Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc. (HOME), I’d like to thank you for the chance to comment on upcoming regulations regarding Common Interest Community Employee Certification Standards.
HOME has provided fair housing services across the Commonwealth since 1971. We know firsthand how damaging housing discrimination can be – both to its direct victims, as well as to the overall health of Virginia’s communities. Because housing is the centerpiece of opportunity, we continue to work to fulfill our mission of ensuring equal access to housing for all people.
We agree with the Virginia General Assembly when they determined that regulatory oversight of employees of common interest community managers is essential to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Virginia. And we commend the General Assembly and the Common Interest Community Board for taking up this important matter.
Companies that provide management services to common interest communities have responsibilities that directly affect access to housing. They deal in housing transactions every day – transactions that ultimately define opportunities for current and future residents. Because these housing transactions are covered under the federal and state Fair Housing Laws, education about the Fair Housing Laws is imperative to assure compliance.
Therefore, HOME recommends strongly that all employees of common interest community managers who provide management services or who have supervisory responsibility for employees who provide management services be required to receive fair housing certification, as overseen by the state Fair Housing Board. We hope the Common Interest Community Board will include fair housing training as part of the education-based certification program for persons who are involved in the business or activity of providing management services to common interest communities
Moreover, HOME also strongly recommends that all members of common interest community boards should receive fair housing training. To the extent this is possible under these regulations or other future regulations, HOME urges the Common Interest Community Board to mandate fair housing training for board members of individual CICs. Board members exercise ultimate authority over decisions made in the Common Interest Communities, and in the vast majority of cases they have no training or experience in property management, As a result, they may make decisions that not only have an impact on someone whose fair housing rights are violated, but that put the community itself in jeopardy for the payment of damages when a complaint is filed.
Too often, CIC boards or employees of the management companies that serve them, violate the Fair Housing Laws. Perhaps they deny a request from a person with a disability the right to a reasonable accommodation or modification. Or perhaps they write and enforce bylaws that contain policies that have a negative differential impact on people of color.
Regardless of whether or not these mistakes are intentional, they are still illegal. Both the common interest communities themselves and the general public will benefit from ensuring that all those either developing or implementing policies and making decisions affecting housing are adequately trained in the fair housing requirements.
We sincerely hope that the proposed regulations for employees of common interest community managers who have principal responsibility for management services or who have supervisory responsibility for employees who provide management services contain a requirement for fair housing certification.
