South Carolina Fair Housing Center

We are a non-profit, civil rights agency founded with the support of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, established as a full service, private agency for the enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act throughout the entire state of South Carolina. As the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or handicap, we accept complaints from individuals who believe that they may have been discriminated against on any such basis. This also includes a failure to provide reasonable accommodations and/or modifications, as well as failing to meet accessibility requirements.

For some of our primary, day to day, functions, we:

Enforce the Fair Housing Act: Fair housing complaint intakes are accepted and processed daily. Individuals who wish to complete an intake may call toll free, statewide, 1 (855) 665-8549 between the hours of 9:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. We also accept walk-in applicants. When accepting and reviewing complaints, we have the authority and capability to investigate and gather evidence, largely through use of fair housing testers. Assistance in filing complaints with HUD for its administrative process is also provided. The center may also assist with fair housing claims pursued in federal court.

Advocate: We are advocates for South Carolinians faced with housing discrimination. Such advocacy can include working to gain a reserved parking space for an individual with disabilities, addressing a “no pets” policy where a resident is in need of an assistance animal, addressing failures to provide homeowner’s insurance in certain neighborhoods, failure to maintain Real Estate Owned Properties in certain neighborhoods, and much more.

Fair Housing Testing: fair housing tests are performed throughout the state. Interested applicants, from all demographics, within all seven (7) protected classes, may call our Fair Housing Specialist, Samantha James, Esquire, at (803) 403-8447, ext. 103, or send their resume with an email expressing interest to scfairhousingcenter@gmail.com. Payment is provided for accepted applicants who duly complete tests.

Training and Promotion of Best Practices: the SCFHC is also a contractual training facility for organizations, housing authorities, cities, community development corporations, realtors and other entities. Training is provided on the overall Act, specific areas of need, best practices, and more. Travel is conducted to organizations that are outside of the Richland County area who request training. For training inquiries, please contact Executive Director, Tina L. Brown, Esquire, at (803) 403-8447, ext. 104 or tbrown@ncrc.org.

Community Education and Outreach: We routinely conduct community outreach and education presentations to tenants, homeowners, church organizations, and more. Topics can range from serving the needs of individuals with disabilities, to domestic violence survivors and fair housing, little known facts, and much more. Attendance at pre-planned community events and festivals is also a part of our outreach endeavors. For inquiries into community education and outreach, please contact Program Coordinator, Shawn Roberson, at (803) 403-8447, ext. 101 or sroberson@ncrc.org.