Reagan to Sign Bill Strengthening Ban on Bias in Housing
President Reagan today will sign the fair housing bill, a major civil rights measure that puts teeth in housing laws and bans discrimination against the handicapped and families with young children, his chief spokesman said Monday.
The bill is “a landmark piece of legislation,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.
The bill was passed Aug. 8 with overwhelming votes of 94 to 3 in the Senate and 376 to 23 in the House--reflecting the intense political pressure on all sides.
The fair housing bill creates a new procedure for dealing with housing disputes, allowing an individual who believes he or she has been discriminated against by a rental or sales agent the right to file a complaint with the Housing and Urban Development Department.
The bill makes it illegal for the first time to deny housing to people with handicaps, and requires that landlords allow handicapped tenants to make modifications, at their own expense, to the dwellings if necessary.
The bill also provides first-time protections for families with children under 18, pregnant women or individuals seeking custody of a minor child.
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