National Fair Housing Advocate Calls for Action Against Widespread Digital Discrimination in the Housing Industry

BALTIMORE - Rezul -- The National Fair Housing Advocate, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has issued an open letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling for immediate intervention to address a long-standing and systemic pattern of digital discrimination against blind and visually impaired individuals within the housing industry. This open letter seeks support from other fair housing and disability rights organizations to amplify this critical issue and demand justice and permanent injunctive relief in the public interest.

The housing industry, including real estate, mortgage, title, and insurance sectors, has long been aware of its failure to provide accessible websites for blind and vision-impaired individuals who rely on assistive technology to navigate the web. Despite this awareness, industry leaders and their supporting vendors have consistently failed to take action, leaving millions of individuals without equal access to vital housing-related services.

"This form of continued and widespread digital discrimination violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, and Article 10 of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Code of Ethics," said Richard Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the National Fair Housing Advocate, Inc. "Unfortunately, there is non-existent oversight and enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) at the local, state, and national levels."

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The housing industry does not appear to have cohesive or consistent corporate policies, practices, or procedures in place to ensure that their websites meet accessibility standards, particularly the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a globally recognized standard for web accessibility. This has resulted in a widespread practice of digital exclusion, which disproportionately affects blind and visually impaired consumers.

The failure of the housing industry to address web accessibility and comply with assistive technology requirements has gone unchecked for years, exacerbated by a lack of regulatory oversight and enforcement from both federal and industry bodies.

The National Fair Housing Advocate, Inc. is urging Attorney General Garland to take immediate corrective action to:

• Investigate and enforce compliance with accessibility laws within the housing industry,
• Educate housing leaders and their vendors on their legal and ethical obligations to provide accessible digital services, and
• Hold industry stakeholders accountable for their ongoing discrimination against a protected class of individuals.

Call for Support

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The National Fair Housing Advocate, Inc. is calling on other non-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and stakeholders within the fair housing and disability rights communities to join in this advocacy effort.

For organizations or individuals wishing to support this open letter to Attorney General Garland, please send an email of support to civil.feedback@doj.us.gov or Richard Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the National Fair Housing Advocate, Inc., at rich@nationalfairhousingadvocate.org.