Training Video Points Out Pitfalls in Rental Housing

As the federal government cracks down on housing discrimination, an Orange County executive has produced a video that teaches those in the rental housing business how to comply with current laws.

“No one will be immune, and the penalties for offenders are increasingly severe,” said Stacy Waddell, a training director at the Sares-Regis Group, a housing development company in Irvine. Waddell teamed up with attorney Laurence Harmon and housing consultant Kathleen McKenna-Harmon to produce the training program, called “Understanding Fair Housing.”

“There’s a general lack of education among rental housing professionals about fair housing and discrimination,” Waddell said. The 30-minute video uses actors to demonstrate obvious and subtle forms of discrimination that include race, religion, national origin, sex and the presence of a disability.

In one case, an African American family is told no apartments are available, but a white family is told otherwise. In another, a prospective renter with an Australian accent inquires about an apartment. But the leasing agent decides the prospect needs to fulfill more stringent credit requirements than normal. And in another segment, a Spanish-speaking woman accuses the apartment manager of intentionally delaying repairs to her garbage disposal when her white neighbor’s repairs receive quick service.

The training program, which sells for $99 and includes a 35-page workbook, is being distributed by Monarch Productions of Redondo Beach. The company can be reached at (310) 318-0103.