California Class Action Alleges City Intimidation, Harassment Of Section 8 Minorities

In Antioch, California, The National Law Journal reports:

• The mortgage crisis has spawned an unusual federal class action by African-Americans in Antioch, Calif., a San Francisco suburb, alleging city intimidation and harassment of minorities who rent homes using federally subsidized Section 8 housing vouchers in an effort to force them out of the area.

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• The real estate foreclosure crisis hit Antioch hard. In response, landlords and homeowners turned to renting homes to pay mortgages, often renting to tenants using federal rent subsidy vouchers, known as Section 8, according to [Brad] Seligman, [of The Impact Fund, a public interest law firm in Emeryville, Calif.].

• By 2006, the inability of homeowners to sell homes allowed Section 8 participants to use their benefits to move out of urban centers to the suburb 40 miles west of San Francisco and to larger homes that might otherwise sit vacant, according to the suit.

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• The suit, brought by five African-American women who rent homes using Section 8 vouchers, alleges that the city and police focused attention on people renting homes using the vouchers. The women say police looking for Section 8 violations subjected residents to warrantless searches of their homes. Police allegedly made threats to landlords who continued to accept the vouchers and they also allegedly intimidated renters with potential loss of benefits.

For more, see Mortgage Crisis Spawns Class Action Alleging Harassment of Minorities.

To view the lawsuit, see Williams v. City of Antioch, No. C08-2301BZ (N.D. Calif.).

See also:

• San Francisco Chronicle: Blacks' suit accuses Antioch of discrimination,
• The Impact Fund: Press Release.

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