Draft study of Kane fair housing shows more awareness needed

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A new study indicates that the number of residents “cost-burdened” by housing has increased in Elgin and elsewhere in Kane County. | File~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 11, 2012 8:45AM

An analysis of affordable housing in Aurora, Elgin and Kane County has found more awareness is needed of fair housing laws, and more outreach is needed on community housing programs.

Among the suggestions, the draft of the study recommends developing an educational strategy for affordable housing in the county that offers resources, referrals and fair housing information.

Aurora, Elgin and Kane County contracted for the two-year study, titled “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing.”

The number of families that are “cost burdened” by housing — meaning they cannot find affordable housing — is increasing, the study found. “Cost-burdened” is defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a household that spends more than 30 percent of its income on housing, excluding the cost of utilities.

As of 2008 data, 50 percent of Elgin residents were living in housing they couldn’t afford; for Aurora, that figure was 45 percent; and in Kane County, it was 43 percent. Statewide, 36 percent of all Illinois residents were living in housing they could not afford.

Those figures show a sharp rise in unaffordable housing during the past decade. In 2000 the percentage of cost-burdened households was lower, at 33 percent in Elgin and 34 percent in Aurora. According to Kane County’s 2000 data, 31 percent of households were burdened by housing costs.

The highest portion of families that were cost-burdened by housing were Hispanic and black, according to the study.

About 21 percent of people in Kane County who applied for a mortgage in 2008 were denied. For the entire Chicago metropolitan region, the figure was 23 percent.

Disabled hit

The study found that fair housing concerns and access to housing for the disabled is “a significant issue” in Kane County.

A community survey conducted for the study and housing complaint data showed there may be some discriminatory practices in the county toward those with disabilities and low-income minority renters, but complaints were generally on par with the national average.

Between 2006 and 2011, 13 fair housing complaints were filed by residents living in both Elgin and Aurora. Most of the complaints were filed based on disability or race discrimination, according to the report.

Data compiled in 2008 showed about 8 percent of residents in Kane County were disabled, less than the state average of 10 percent.

Recommendations

Countywide, the study recommended increasing education on fair housing issues related to disabled households and investigating the need to update fair housing testing for lending, real estate and rental companies.

“There is a need to strengthen planning and communication among the local jurisdictions and the two housing authorities (the Aurora Housing Authority and the Housing Authority of Elgin) regarding community housing goals and priorities,” the study reads.

The greatest needs for housing in Kane County are identified as low-income families, the disabled and senior households.

The study also said Kane, Aurora and Elgin should develop language accessibility plans to meet the needs of Spanish speakers.

The study recommended continuing a number of activities the county is already doing, including: providing fair housing training to apartment owners and managers; supporting services that provide housing, credit counseling and foreclosure counseling; and providing housing resources that maintain the supply of affordable housing in each community.

Elgin weighs in

Elgin Community Development Director Marc Mylott said the city has a good plan in place to address any impediments to housing. And it will be doing more, he said.

“It is difficult to say where those types of concerns (identified in the study) came from,” Mylott said. “We take the notion of fair housing very seriously.”

City staff is most concerned with the condition or housing and code enforcement, he said.

As part of the city’s rental licensing program, landlords must take a landlord training class that covers fair housing law.

Elgin already participates in a commission that is comprised of both county and city officials tasked with addressing a number of housing issues, Mylott said. That group also decides how Community Development Block Grant dollars should be used.

Elgin tackles fair housing issues from the renter’s perspective, too, he said. Fair housing complaints can be taken to the city’s Human Relations Commission in addition to filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights or HUD.

Most often, renters contact the city when they are about to be evicted by a landlord, and Elgin officials will direct them to an independent legal resource center.

Aurora Assistant Chief of Staff Rick Guzman said the city plans to work with Elgin and Kane County to develop a plan to address the problems identified in the study.

“Our intent is to meet after the public comment period and work to leverage our resources together,” Guzman said.