The Federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination due to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. What you don't see on that list but what we see at Open Communities is discrimination against age. Fortunately for our clients, we serve Illinois, and the Illinois Human Rights Act extends federal housing protections to include age (defined as 40 and over). Many of the age-related housing discrimination calls we get are disability-

On Tuesday, May 22, we will be at the Evanston City Council meeting “All Inn” in support of the work Connections for the Homeless is doing at the Margarita Inn . The fight for fair housing is intrinsically linked to the fight for housing solutions for all . We are proud of the work that our partner, Connections for the Homeless, is doing through their Housing First shelter program at the Margarita Inn. Housing first models like the Margarita Inn are proven best practices . L

This year, Evanston's City Council is considering ways to upgrade the current RLTO, the Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance. The RLTO is the law that sets the fundamental rights and responsibilities for both landlords and tenants in Evanston. It establishes rules such as: the amount landlords can charge for security deposits what they can and cannot write in their leases how much notice landlords must give for rent increases or non-renewals of someone's lease which repai

Recently we were excited to see the White House release its Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights to promote fair housing for renters. The administration collected input from people around the country over six months. The participants included tenants, housing providers, legal associations, and advocates. They held listening sessions, roundtable discussions, and stakeholder meetings across the United States. "Over 44 million households, or roughly 35 percent of the U.S. pop

Learn about Cook County's Just Housing Amendment (JHA) and how it impacts housing providers and people with criminal records.

Open Communities is part of a settlement with Redfin, expanding access to real estate services in communities of color.

Open Communities New Fair Housing Associate on his new role and what is important to know about fair housing right now.

Open Communities was part of a $53 million settlement with Fannie Mae confirming fair housing laws cover the maintenance & marketing of REOs

How Open Communities plans to enforce fair housing laws in 2022. Written by Fair Housing Department Director Chris Riehlmann.