Editor's Note: The next MHCO Management Training Seminar is three weeks away - June 13th in Medford. We are very excited to be welcoming Bjorn Hess as our one of MHCO's newest members who will also be presenting at MHCO's training seminar on June 13th. Bjorn Hessis a founding member and partner of the law firm Hazen, Hess & Ott, PLLC of Camas, WA. He is licensed to practice law in both Washington and Oregon. In addition, Bjorn is an owner of Sterling Properties Real Estate Services, a property management company based in Vancouver, WA / Lake Oswego, OR. After completing his Doctor of Jurisprudence and Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, Bjorn returned to the Pacific Northwest where focuses his practice on landlord tenant law and serves as Chief of Operations at Sterling Properties Real Estate Services. Bjorn's passions include traveling abroad to experience different cultures, skiing, cycling, and pheasant hunting with his chocolate labrador Kona (who can often be found at his office). He is a volunteer member of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol.
Bjorn will be presenting at MHCO's Medford Seminar on June 13th on Fair Housing. We are extremely excited to have him participating in the MHCO training programing.
By: Bjorn A. Hess, Attorney at Law
Two weeks ago I had the unique opportunity to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. Much of the museum dealt with race and the struggles experienced by African Americans in our nation and touched on difficulties in access to housing amongst other topics. Having dealt with Fair Housing issues as an attorney it was informative for me to experience a museum that dealt in part with housing laws and how we got to where we are today. The following article looks at the history behind current legislation intended to prevent discrimination in housing and how it became law.
The Fair Housing Act (The Act") is federal legislation codified in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 intended to address discrimination in the context of housing. The purpose of the Fair Housing Act is to prevent discrimination by a landlord or homeowner against either a prospective tenant or prospective buyer on the basis of status as a member of a protected class. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law by then-president Lyndon B. Johnson one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King
