Dallas' Fair Housing Division took in 499 reports of possible housing discrimination in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, and opened formal investigations into 95 of them, according to an annual update headed to a City Council committee Tuesday morning.
The memo, from Assistant City Manager Liz Cedillo-Pereira, is on the agenda for the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee's 8 a.m. meeting on Nov. 17.
From 499 reports to four cause findings
Staff screened every report first. In 349 cases, the division concluded the complaint was not covered by the federal Fair Housing Act or the city's ordinance and sent residents to legal aid, another city department or an outside agency.
That left 150 matters that looked like potential violations. The division opened 95 formal investigations during the year, closed 65 with a final determination and carried 30 into the new fiscal year. The remaining 55 are being assigned in the order they came in, the memo says.
Investigators issued four cause determinations, and three of those led the city to file civil actions against housing providers. Ten other cases ended in conciliation, an agreement between the parties, which produced $21,419 in monetary damages. Sixty percent of the formal investigations opened were wrapped up in 100 days or less, above the federal performance standard of 50% for non-complex cases.
The memo frames the small number of cause findings as typical, citing a National Fair Housing Alliance report that roughly 14 cases nationally are resolved some other way for every one that is formally charged.
