Fair Housing

Since its founding by the Leadership Council in 1968, Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) has, as a part of its mission, built and fought for the production and preservation of integrated and affordable housing for all. The past forty-five plus years have seen hundreds of affordable units built and managed in and around the city of Chicago where no affordable, integrated housing had previously existed. MHDC’s most spectacular victory for affordable housing came in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court “open housing” case, MHDC v. Arlington Heights. MHDC successfully fought for and established the principle that municipalities may not use their zoning codes to prevent the development of housing for low and moderate income minority persons. This decision continues to have a major impact on Fair Housing litigation today.

MHDC and its management affiliate, Resident Management Services continue to demonstrate their commitment to fair housing through frequent fair housing training for staff and participation in fair housing conferences. It is their forty-five year commitment to fair housing that MHDC brings to all the housing development and management projects that it undertakes.

An important component of MHDC’s commitment to fair housing is the practice of Affirmative Fair Marketing when leasing or selling a unit. Whether the unit of housing is a senior condominium, a single-family house, or a rental apartment, MHDC works to ensure that the project is in full compliance with all federal, state and local fair housing laws. Advertising for houses and apartments is placed in a manner likely to attract prospective minority applicants who might not otherwise be reached. For disabled applicants and residents of MHDC-affiliated projects, MHDC works to make the necessary accommodations that will ensure people have access to their homes. For those residents who need assistance in order to live comfortable in their units, MHDC maintains contact with local social service agencies in order to provide residents with necessary help.

MHDC looks forward to continuing to promote the cause of fair housing well into the new millennium.