H.R. 149

Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2017 or the Housing Fairness Act of 2017

This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets.

The Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 is amended to require that only qualified private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations receive funds under the fair housing initiatives program for investigations of violations of the rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Private entities that formulate or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices must be nonprofit in order to be eligible for contracts to establish or support education and outreach programs.

HUD shall implement a competitive matching grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.