The Long Island Board of REALTORS® (LIBOR) has issued the following statement:
We take the issues raised in the Newsday piece extremely seriously. The Long Island Board of REALTORS® understands that REALTORS® play a key role in making the American Dream possible for Long Islanders. That means treating all people fairly and equally. When we learn of conduct that may not meet our Code of Ethics or follow the regulations or laws regarding fair housing practices, we take the matter extremely seriously.
We have already initiated a thorough audit of our fair housing training program. Before this story appeared, LIBOR began a process to review, audit and enhance the delivery of our fair housing training.
We are reviewing our course offerings and the instructors with whom we contract to teach those courses to ensure they are of the highest quality. We are conducting the audit in consultation with independent fair housing experts. LIBOR expects that the instructors it contracts with will deliver the curriculum they have developed, as it was submitted to LIBOR and approved by the New York Department of State.
Fair housing is at the heart of our work. Our members pledge to follow the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, in which they pledge they “shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
LIBOR works at the state and local levels to ensure that fair housing policies are protected and strengthened, including a local “fairness in cooperative homeownership” ordinance that requires co-op boards to decide on applications on a set timeline and communicate in writing why an application was denied.
Our leaders fully support and cooperate with state and local programs that use qualified and trained field testers to ensure all real estate agents are following the law when it comes to fair housing practices. We will continue to reinforce that ensuring fair access to housing choice isn’t just the law, it’s the right thing to do.
If you have any questions or comments on this issue, please contact us at fairhousing@lirealtor.com.