The leadership of the National Association of REALTORS® met in Washington January 8 where they unanimously passed a Fair Housing Action Plan, distinguishing NAR as a national industry leader on fair housing. HAAR President, Sha Jarboe has been selected to serve on NAR’s Fair Housing Policy Committee, which was created last summer. We are thrilled that HAAR will have a strong voice to advocate for national fair housing policy and are proud of the contributions Sha will make nationally and locally here in North Alabama.
The recent New York Newsday investigation underscored the need for NAR to further ramp up and reinvigorate its fair housing commitment.
NAR’s new Fair Housing Action Plan, abbreviated ‘ACT,’ emphasizes (A)ccountability, (C)ulture Change, and (T)raining in order to ensure America’s 1.4 million Realtors® are doing everything possible to protect housing rights in America. Among other things, the plan specifically commits NAR to:
- Work closely with State Association Executives to ensure that state licensing laws include effective fair-housing training requirements and hold real estate agents accountable to their fair housing obligations;
- Launch a Public-Service Announcement Campaign that reaffirm NAR’s commitment to fair housing, and how consumers can report problems;
- Integrate fair housing into all REALTOR® conferences and engagements (to include a fair housing theme throughout the May Midyear Meeting;
- Explore the creation of a voluntary self-testing program, in partnership with a fair housing organization, as a resource for brokers and others who want confidential reports on agent practices so they can address problems;
- Create more robust fair housing education, including unconscious-bias training, and education on how the actions of REALTORS® shape communities.
- Conduct a national study to determine what factors motivate discrimination in sales market
- Profile leaders who exemplify the best fair housing practices and workplace diversity
- Develop materials to help REALTORS® provide consumers with information on schools that avoids fair housing pitfalls.