SOUTHCOAST FAIR HOUSING, ACLU, OPEN COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE, CIVIL RIGHTS ORGS FILE SUIT AGAINST DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT RULE GUTTING FAIR HOUSING PROTECTIONS

OCTOBER 23, 2020

Hartford, C.T. –Rhode Island and Massachusetts civil rights organization SouthCoast Fair Housing, in partnership with Hartford-based Open Communities Alliance, filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to challenge its rollback of critical protections under the Fair Housing Act. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate a new HUD regulation that guts the long-established legal framework for “disparate impact” claims, which have helped dismantle systemic barriers to fair housing for decades.

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NEW RESEARCH BY SOUTHCOAST FAIR HOUSING POINTS TO SOURCE OF INCOME DISCRIMINATION IN RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island remains one of the last states in New England not to prohibit income discrimination

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Pawtucket, R.I. – SouthCoast Fair Housing (SCFH) today released a groundbreaking research report on source of income discrimination in Rhode Island. SOI discrimination affects residents who rely on income other than traditional employment wages to afford safe, quality housing. These tenants face disproportionate stigma in the private rental market and many struggle to find shelter as a result. Fourteen states now prohibit discrimination against lawful sources of income, but the practice remains legal in Rhode Island.
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LAWSUIT CHALLENGES R.I. COURT RULE BARRING NON-PROFIT LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS FROM ASSISTING NON-INDIGENT CLIENTS

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

With legal assistance from the ACLU of Rhode Island, SouthCoast Fair Housing (SCFH) has today filed a federal lawsuit against the RI Supreme Court over a court rule that is preventing the organization from providing legal help to victims of housing discrimination in RI.
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