Fair Housing Workshop 2021

Fair Housing is arguably the most important type of education for all rental housing providers. Each year, roughly 30,000 fair housing complaints are processed by HUD and other agencies across the U.S. Sadly, many housing providers create unfair hardships for renters either intentionally, by not understanding the law, or simply by not considering the impact of their words or actions. Regardless of intent, an accused housing provider will likely spend significant time and legal expenses to defend the complaint, often paying fines of $10,000 or more. While multiple ONLINE and ONDEMAND classes on Fair Housing are available, RHAWA’s Annual Fair Housing Workshop provides the most current and comprehensive education for housing providers including:

• A general overview of Fair Housing principles such as unconscious bias, steering, disparate impact, protected classes, harassment, retaliation, and how to process reasonable accommodations/modifications for disabled persons, including assistance animals.
• Responsibility to investigate and address tenant on tenant harassment and other fair housing issues more common in multi-family housing.
• A review of the most common fair housing complaints in Washington and the typical investigation process.

Panelists:

Christopher Cutting, Attorney

Attorney, Housing Provider and RHAWA Vice President 

Christopher is known as a tireless advocate for housing providers. He has been practicing residential and commercial landlord-tenant law, judgment enforcement, and appeals since 2009. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for RHAWA, as Vice President and Co-Chairman of the Legislative Committee. Christopher works with numerous housing provider's groups to provide input on state and local legislation; he has testified on landlord-tenant relations and law before the Tacoma City Council and the Washington Legislature.
  
 
Michael Chin, JD/MBA

Enforcement Manager Seattle Office for Civil Rights

Mike Chin is responsible for enforcing Seattle’s civil rights laws in housing, employment, public accommodations, and contracting. His division includes investigations, testing program, outreach, training, technical assistance, and mediation.
 
  
Sarah Fried

Community Manager Dobler Management Company
 
Sarah has worked in the Multi-Family Housing industry for about 15 years, encompassing military housing, affordable, and market rate housing. She currently manages a 300-apartment home community for Dobler Management Company, Inc. Sarah has a passion for people, for continuous learning, and for educating the public and lawmakers on the need for good housing providers.