The City of Kalamazoo is offering four fair housing training sessions for landlords and housing providers in the City of Kalamazoo. The training, which will be provided by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan, will educate on federal and state Fair Housing Law as well as new ordinance updates within the city.
Training will be offered on the following dates and times:
- Thursday, January 21, 9 am – 12pm
- Friday, January 22, 6 – 9 pm
- Thursday, February 11, 6 – 9 pm
- Tuesday, February 16, 9 am – 12 pm
Kalamazoo city staff will prepare training materials for housing providers and tenants to explain local ordinance protections, which include the newly updated Non-Discrimination and Fair Housing Ordinances in Chapters 18 and 18A of the City Code of Ordinances. The updates add new protected classes in the City of Kalamazoo and creates a Civil Rights Board to prevent housing discrimination. They also protect renters against predatory application fees, protects vouchers as a source of income, clarify that it is unlawful to use anything other than convictions for criminal background checks, and strengthen protection for survivors of domestic violence.
The City’s Non-Discrimination and Fair Housing ordinances can be found by searching the Code of Ordinances here.