Fair Housing Program
Complaint Services
If you think you have been discriminated against in housing, the Fair Housing Program can help. Housing discrimination happens when a tenant or homebuyer is harmed or treated unequally because they belong to a protected class. Protected classes include:
Federal and State Protected Classes
State Only Protected Classes
- Sexual Orientation
- Gender Identity/Expression
- Marital Status
- Age
- Housing Subsidy
- Public Assistance
- Veteran/Military Status
- Ancestry
- Genetic Information
How to Get Help
There are three ways to request help from the Fair Housing Program. You can complete the online intake form above, email us at fairhousing@commteam.org, or call us at (978)654-5673. We make every effort to respond to requests within one business day. The Fair Housing Program does not provide emergency services. If your immediate health or safety is at risk, please contact local emergency services by calling 911 or local police/health services.
What Happens When I Ask for Help?
The Fair Housing Program will schedule an intake interview to learn about your housing problems, determine your eligibility, and discuss how we can help. Intakes are conducted over the phone or in person. If you need language assistance or other accommodations, please let us know. While we ask some demographic questions to help us track housing discrimination, we do NOT inquire about citizenship or legal residence status.
During your intake, the Fair Housing Program can provide you with information on your rights and how to enforce them. The Fair Housing Program provides a range of services to eligible people including:
- Information and Resources – The Fair Housing Program maintains a variety of resources and information on housing discrimination, housing rights, and advocacy tools.
- Technical Assistance – The Fair Housing Program can help address a housing problem with your housing provider. For example, we can help you ask for a reasonable accommodation or inform your housing provider when they violate your rights and tell them how to stop.
- Informal Resolution — Sometimes tenants and housing providers are able to avoid an adverse or discriminatory action with informal assistance. The Fair Housing Program can work with tenants and housing providers to resolve their problems without court intervention.
- Legal Referrals – Often people need legal assistance with their housing problems. The Fair Housing Program can help you understand your enforcement options and help you find the legal assistance you need. We can refer you to low or no cost legal services and help you complete their intake processes. The Fair Housing Program also helps people file complaints of housing discrimination with governmental enforcement organizations like HUD or the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. These organizations can also enforce your rights.
