Fair Housing Tester

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The Disability Law Center (DLC) is looking for people who are interested in serving as testers in its Fair Housing Testing Program. The DLC is charged with investigating certain types of housing discrimination complaints across in the State of Utah. Federal and State fair housing laws prohibit discriminatory practices in any housing industry related business or transaction.

While blatant acts of housing discrimination occur, more often the discrimination is subtle and hard to discover. Testing is one of the most important tools fair housing agencies, housing advocacy groups and others interested in fair housing, use to uncover discrimination.

One of the most vital tools of our investigatory process is the fair housing tester. The DLC follows up complaints by creating testing situations-that is, simulations of housing transactions-to uncover violations of the fair housing laws. Testers call or visit apartments and then submit written reports about their experiences. For some tests, testers are eligible to receive a stipend for each test after completing a training session.

What we look for in a tester:

• People who enjoy engaging in role play
• People of varied backgrounds and ages
• People belonging to a "protected class" (Protected classes include race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability)
• People who can give a few hours during the day and/or evening, on weekdays and/or weekends
• People who can be reached by cell phone
• People who preferably have the use of a car or feel comfortable traveling, potentially long distances by public transportation to a variety of different locations around the valley.
• People who want to get involved in a worthy cause and make a difference!