The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) recently unveiled a Fair Housing and Equity legislative package designed to help address ongoing fair housing and equity issues that persist, especially for communities of color. The package is part of C.A.R.’s Californians Need Housing Now initiative, which urges the Legislature to enact policies that address California’s worsening housing affordability and availability crisis with increased housing supply and fair housing reforms. Specifically, the bills address the historic and ongoing inequities facing Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) that have made it harder for these communities to access and afford housing in California.
“REALTORS® are on the front lines fighting to overcome California’s housing supply and affordability crisis, which includes ensuring fair housing opportunities for all people,” said C.A.R. President Dave Walsh. “This California Association of REALTORS® legislative package is a critical first step in what must be an ongoing effort to eliminate discrimination and other barriers that have historically prevented so many families from realizing the economic and societal benefits that housing provides.”
Fair housing and equity legislative solutions include requiring California real estate professionals to take implicit bias training, removing discriminatory language in property records, prohibiting discrimination against people living in affordable housing and repealing Article 34 of the California Constitution.
“We hope to see Gov. Gavin Newsom address the critical issue of fair housing during his State of the State Address this week. Californians need housing now, and our solutions to our state’s affordability crisis must be rooted in equity,” Walsh said.
C.A.R. recently released a report showing that less than half of Black households earned the minimum income needed to purchase a home as compared to whites, illustrating the homeownership gap and wealth disparity for people of color, women, people with disabilities, indigenous people and members of the LGBTQ community.
