Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice

Executive Summary

The City of Charlottesville and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission prepared this Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice as part of their commitment to "affirmatively furthering fair housing." The Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice is a companion document to the Consolidated Plan and seeks to illustrate the current fair housing profile of the area, identify impediments to fair housing choice, describe current public and private fair housing programs in the region, and make recommendations to overcome the stated barriers.

Impediments to fair housing choice are defined as any actions, omissions, or decisions taken because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin that restrict housing choices or the availability of housing choice, or any actions, omissions or decisions that have this effect.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice for all recipients of HOME and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The member governments of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District (Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson, and the City of Charlottesville) entered into an agreement to participate in the HOME Program as a Consortium, and, therefore receive annual entitlement HOME funds available on an equal share basis available to each participating government. The City of Charlottesville has been designated the lead agency for the HOME Consortium and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission the designated Program Manager for the Consortium. The City of Charlottesville is a CDBG entitlement community and receives annual CDBG funds to be used within the City.

The fair housing and discrimination issues identified in this document can be summarized as follows:

• African Americans and people of Hispanic or Latino origin in the region have a much higher likelihood of being extremely low income than the population as a whole. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of black households and 35% of Hispanic households fall below 50% of the median family income, compared to 23% of all households.
• The shortage of affordable housing is still a severe problem for many low income residents in the Planning District. A worker earning minimum wage ($5.15 per hour) must work 104 hours a week to afford a 2 bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, and Greene, 74 hours a week in Louisa, and 68 hours a week in Nelson County.
• HOME, Inc. performed testing in the Charlottesville area for accessibility for people with disabilities, and found that 100% of the sites did not meet fair housing accessibility guidelines. New building codes in the City seek to redress these deficiencies.
• According to the Jefferson Area Disability Services Board, affordability is as much of a problem for people with disabilities as accessibility.
• Piedmont Housing Alliance received 50 fair housing complaints or questions between January 2002 and November 2003. Issues included race, national origin, religion, gender, family status, and disability.
• At almost all income levels, African Americans are denied loans at a greater rate than whites of the same income level. Both white and black applicants are most often denied loans based upon credit history and debt-to-income ratio. (Source: 2002 HMDA Data)
• Many people are choosing housing in areas further from the urban center. As individuals move further from the central area, this affects their access to available services and employment centers, and puts a greater strain on regional transportation networks.

Based upon the results of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and the City of Charlottesville identified the following impediments and recommends the following actions to address those impediments.

Affordability

Significant housing cost burden for low and moderate income families; Lack of affordable units.

Accessibility:

Lack of awareness about accessibility requirements; Shortage of accessible units

Lending:

Disparity in loan applications and approval rates by race

Growth Patterns:

Movement of low income families out of urban areas

Community Resistance:

Stigma attached to affordable housing.

Discrimination:

Discrimination based on race, national origin, family status, gender, and disability in housing; Lack of awareness about fair housing laws.