The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 prohibit discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of housing against any person because of race, color, religion, gender, age, disability or handicap, familial or marital status, or national origin.

The H2O group and the Housing Authority of Maricopa County fully endorse and support all Fair Housing laws. This nondiscrimination policy covers admission and access to or treatment or employment in HAMC’s programs and activities.

If you think your rights have been violated you should file a housing discrimination complaint.You should submit a complaint form or write a letter containing the following information: your name and address, the name of the person or company your complaint is about, the address of the house or apartment you were trying to rent or buy, the date when the incident occurred and a short description of what happened. Do this as soon as possible because there are time limitations for complaints. There is no cost to file a charge.

An excellent source of information on Housing-related discrimination is HUD's Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) page, available here. You can file a complaint with any of these authorities:

• Arizona Attorney General’s Office (Website) - 1275 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85007. Phone: 602.542.5025 (the Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General's Office investigates housing discrimination complaints in Maricopa County)
• Regional Office of FHEO, US Department of Housing and Urban Development - 600 Harrison Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, California 94107-1387. Phones: (415) 489-6524, 1-800-347-3739 and TTY (415) 436-6594 (This HUD office handles complaints for Arizona)
• Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (Website), Department of Housing and Urban Development - 451 Seventh St. SW - Room 5204 , Washington, DC 20410-2000. (An online Housing Discrimination Complaint form and additional information are available here)