Fair Housing
Foster City strives to ensure that the sale, rental or financing of housing is not denied to any individual on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, age, marital status, disability, or other arbitrary factors. Information and resources are provided below.
Events
Learn more about Fair Housing events on our Events page. We held a fair housing workshop on August 28, 2024, and will hold another workshop in 2025. To view the slides shown at the workshop, scroll to the bottom of the page. To watch the video, click here.
Foster City Tenant Anti-Discrimination Regulations, Chapter 5.72.
Chapter 5.72 makes is unlawful for the owner or manager of rental housing to discriminate against an existing tenant on the basis of that tenant’s use of a Section 8 or any other rent subsidy.
Foster City Reasonable Accommodation Regulations, Chapter 17.84.
Chapter 17.84 of Foster City's Municipal Code provides a formal procedure to request reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities seeking equal access to housing under the federal Fair Housing Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act in the application of zoning laws and other land use regulations, policies and procedures. For reasonable accommodation requests for rental housing, contact your property manager.
Resources for Persons with Disabilities
The Golden Gate Regional Center coordinates a process to determine services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities and their families pursuant to the Lanterman Act. The Golden Gate Regional Center also works with local education agencies that are primarily responsible for providing Early Start services to infants and toddlers with vision, hearing and severe orthopedic impairments; the regional centers are solely responsible for providing services to all other children eligible for Early Start. The Center for Independence of Those with Disabilities provides resources for people with disabilities.
Additional Resources
Project Sentinel is a non-profit organization. Their primary function is to assist individuals with housing problems such as discrimination, mortgage foreclosure & delinquency, rental issues including repairs, deposits, privacy, dispute resolution, home buyer education, post-purchase education, and reverse mortgages. Their Mission is to develop and promote fairness and equality of housing for all persons and to advocate the peaceful resolution of disputes for community welfare and harmony.
Project Sentinel is a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency that
(1) helps tenants and landlords resolve their housing problems through counseling, conciliation, and mediation;
(2) investigates complaints of housing discrimination and provides counseling on fair housing issues; and
(3) provides a complete suite of mortgage and home ownership-related housing counseling services.
Project Sentinel also provides training on landlord-tenant and housing counseling services on request. FREE Helpline: (650) 399-2149, Address: 1615 Hudson St., Suite A, Redwood City, CA 94061
Need Information in other languages? Contact Project Sentinhttps://www.housing.org/other-resources
Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County
Provides free civil legal services to low-income San Mateo County residents.
Department of Consumer Affairs
Landlord/tenant information
County of San Mateo Fair Housing
County's Assessment of Fair Housing
Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center
Offers mediation services, including for landlord/tenant disputes
California Civil Rights Department
The Civil Rights Department is the state agency charged with enforcing California’s civil rights laws. The mission of the CRD is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, businesses, and state-funded programs, and from bias-motivated violence and human trafficking. You can learn about housing discrimination or file a complaint. The Department also offers dispute resolution services.
The California Civil Rights Department provides training on the following topics: Regulations, Sources of Income, Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities, Prohibited Use of Criminal History Information in Housing, Discriminatory Effect, Harassment and Retaliation, and Land Use Discrimination. Click here to see the slides.
