Civil Rights Organizations Accuse Bank of America of Housing Discrimination in 37 Metropolitan Areas

National Fair Housing Alliance, 19 Fair Housing Organizations, and Two Homeowners Charge Bank of America and Safeguard Properties Management with Violating the Federal Fair Housing Act

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), 19 fair housing organizations, and two homeowners in Maryland filed a federal Fair Housing Act lawsuit against Bank of America, N.A., Bank of America Corp., and Safeguard Properties Management, LLC. The lawsuit alleges defendants intentionally failed to provide routine exterior maintenance and marketing at Bank of America-owned homes in working-and middle-class African American and Latino neighborhoods in 37 metropolitan areas, while they consistently maintained similar bank-owned homes in comparable white neighborhoods.

This lawsuit is the result of a multi-year investigation undertaken by NFHA and its fair housing agency partners.

Andy Freeman and Jean Zachariasiewicz represent the plaintiffs.

Washington Post article, “Lawsuit: Bank of America Allows Foreclosed Homes in Minority Neighborhoods to Deteriorate; Takes Better Care of Properties in White Communities,” June 26, 2018

Washington Post article, “Squatters, Overgrown Grass, Trashed Lawns: Frustrated Homeowners Sue Banks Claiming Bias,” October 7, 2018