The Prince George's County Board of Realtors subscribes to the policy that a favorable public attitude for equal opportunity in housing can best be accomplished through leadership, example education, and the mutual cooperation of the real estate industry and the public. It is a basic premise of the Board that mutual cooperation and voluntary acceptance of responsibility by the entire community in solving minority housing problems are the keys to meaningful gains toward a permanent solution. In the spirit of this belief, the following Code of Equal Housing Opportunities Practices is. hereby adopted by this Board and each member shall be required to adhere to its provisions: I. It is the responsibility kers per on the eal not deny or otherany real property to any persons on the basis of race, color, religion national origin, marital status or sex; C. Brokers and salesmen will not represent to any persons on account of race, color, religion, VOLUNTARY EQUAL HOUSING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION An Evaluation of Compliance with a Prototype by Randy Hill November 1975 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES CENTER* of the Metropolitan Washington Planning and Housing Association 1225 K Street, N.W., Suite 222, Washington, D. C. 20005 *The Housing Opportunities Council of Metropolitan Washington, Inc., merged with the planning and housing ass0ciation in November, 1975. Sharing in the United Way 2 PREFACE A lot of people in the equal housing opportunity field put considerable effort into obtaining voluntary affirmative action commitments from members of the real estate industry. They do this as a public service. They are fulfilling a role that the industry itself should carry out: educate members about equal housing opportunity laws and court decisions, devise affirmative action plans, and motivate members to take affirmative action to compensate for the legacy of housing racism that still makes known its sophisticated presence. Two years ago the Housing Opportunities Council of Metropolitan Washington (HOC) began its own efforts to obtain voluntary affirmation action plans from the respective Boards of Realtors of Metropolitan Washington. HOC staff concentrated on Prince George's county. The staff did an excellent job and managed to develop a congenial and cooperative working arrangement with the Prince George's County (Maryland) Board of Realtors. On November 19, 1973, the Board of Directors of the Prince George's Realtors unanimously adopted an Equal Housing Opportunities Plan designed to help achieve the goal of open housing in their county, a rapidly growing jurisdiction located adjacent to the District of Columbia's eastern quadrants. The plan was unprecedented in the metropolitan Washington area. There was a lot of fanfare and good faith understanding, including a banquet speech by an HOC representative before a gathering of Realtors. A Maryland congressman inserted a piece in the Congressional Record hailing the precedent setting project. * A year and a half later, in the Spring of 1975, a survey was conducted to monitor implementation of the plan. This report contains the provisions of the plan and the results of that survey. The main purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and to offer, if necessary, recommendations for improving its implementation. The findings of this survey indicate that the Prince George's County Board of Realtors have yet to translate much of the good will and written intentions into effective action. If they do not, then one can assume that their adoption of the plan was simply a pro forma public relations activity. This report sets forth the bases on which these conclusions are drawn and makes recommendations for more effective implementation of the plan. Roy Maurer Jr. Executive Director * For the entire text, please see Appendix VII. |