Editing Redlining (section)

=== Legislation ===

In the United States, the [[Fair Housing Act of 1968]] was passed to combat the practice of redlining. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, "The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale of a dwelling because of race or national origin. The Act also makes it unlawful for any person or entity involved in residential real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any person in making available such a transaction, or in the terms or conditions of such a transaction, because of race or national origin."<ref name=HUDNo_15-064b>{{Cite web |title=HUDNo_15-064 |url=https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2015/HUDNo_15-064b |website=portal.hud.gov |access-date=2017-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308221250/https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=%2Fpress%2Fpress_releases_media_advisories%2F2015%2FHUDNo_15-064b}}</ref>  The [[Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity]] is tasked with administering and enforcing this law.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1691 et seq., was enacted on October 28, 1974.<ref>{{cite web |title=15 USC CHAPTER 41, SUBCHAPTER IV: EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY |url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title15-chapter41-subchapter4&edition=prelim |website=uscode.house.gov}}</ref> This law makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant regarding any aspect of a credit transaction based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract).<ref>{{cite web |title=Civil Rights Division {{!}} The Equal Credit Opportunity Act |url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/equal-credit-opportunity-act-3 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en |date=6 August 2015}}</ref>  It also prohibits discrimination based on the applicant's income deriving from a public assistance program or the applicant's good faith exercise of any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The ECOA applies to any person who regularly participates in credit decisions,<ref>{{cite web |title=Federal Register :: Request Access |url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-202 |website=unblock.federalregister.gov}}</ref> including banks, retailers, bankcard companies, finance companies, and credit unions.

The part of the law that defines its authority and scope is known as Regulation B, referenced as 12 C.F.R. § 1002.1(b) (2017).<ref>{{cite web |title=Federal Register :: Request Access |url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002 |website=unblock.federalregister.gov}}</ref> from the (b) that appears in Title 12 part 1002's official identifier: 12 C.F.R. § 1002.1(b) (2017).<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=§ 1002.1 Authority, scope and purpose. |url=https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/1002/1/ |website=Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |language=en}}</ref> Failure to comply with Regulation B can subject a financial institution to civil liability for actual and punitive damages in individual or class actions. Liability for punitive damages can be as much as $10,000 in individual actions and the lesser of $500,000 or 1% of the creditor's net worth in class actions.<ref name="auto"/>

The [[Community Reinvestment Act]] (CRA), passed by Congress in 1977, requires banks to apply the same lending criteria in all communities.<ref>{{cite book |title=Comeback Cities: A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival |author1=Paul S. Grogan |author2=Tony Proscio |isbn=978-0-8133-3952-8 |year=2002 |page=114 |publisher=Basic Books |quote=The goal was not to relax lending restrictions but rather to get banks to apply the same criteria to residents in the inner-city as in the [[suburbs]]. }}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>