WASHINGTON, May 27 (UPI) -- Housing discrimination complaints are increasing in the United States but court filings stemming from complaints are declining, federal records show.
Under the Federal Fair Housing Act, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed 36 charges in 2006 and 31 in 2007, USA Today reported Tuesday.
The figures are down 65 percent from the last years of the Clinton administration when 111 charges were filed in 1999 and 82 were filed in 2000.
Complaints have risen from nearly 7,100 in 1999 and 2000 to more than 10,000 in 2006 and 2007.
Shanna Smith, chief executive officer of the National Fair Housing Alliance, called the number of charges filed "a drop in the bucket for the number of complaints that happen annually."
HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement Bryan Green said the agency is settling more cases out of court and "obtaining the comparable relief" for victims of housing discrimination.
The aggregate number of settled cases is up but the percentage is down, the newspaper reported. In 1999, HUD negotiated settlements in 42 percent of the complaints. In 2007, it reached settlements 36.5 percent of the time.
