LatinaLista — In light of the recent study that found Black and Latino homebuyers end up paying more when buying a house, a new app by the Department of Housing and Urban Development hopes to help homebuyers who feel they’ve been discriminated against.
Billed as the first federal civil rights app, the Housing Discrimination Complaint Application enables users to study up on their rights as homebuyers — with a zoom feature for visually impaired users, file a complaint from their iPhones or iPads if they feel they are being discriminated against and link directly to the Discrimination hotline.
Another helpful feature is that in case of a natural disaster and people are trying to find housing, they can use the app to do that, especially at times when the electricity is out in certain areas and phones are unavailable. HUD plans to roll out an android version of the app in the next few months.
“Having this first fair housing mobile application equips people everywhere with the information they need to combat housing discrimination,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “We are maximizing the latest technology to make the process for filing fair housing complaints faster and easier and arming our fair housing partners with the information they need to understand their fair housing rights and responsibilities.”
The bottom line is ensuring that every homebuyer is treated the same and afforded the same opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
