SPENCER — Spencer’s and Rowan County’s planning staff held a fair housing information session in Spencer’s town hall Wednesday night to inform residents about their rights to fair housing and the protections afforded to them under the law.

The session was hosted by the town and the talk was given by experts from the North Carolina Human Relations Commission. The Human Relations Commission is the body tasked with investigating housing discrimination complaints in the state. Sasha Vann, an investigator, and Gene Troy, a program manager, both spoke at the event.

The two speakers were invited by the town and county as part of the requirements for receiving grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which state that anyone who receives grant money must make efforts to educate the public about fair housing.

Spencer Planner Kyle Harris said that even though the town is required to host the discussion, they are working to do more than just check boxes for money.

“I used to work for Salisbury and they do have a more robust housing program just because they have the larger staff, but my goal is to make sure that Spencer is at least proactively providing some additional services in the housing area. Helping connect residents to how to file a housing complaint if they have one and to understand what their rights are as tenants and landlords,” said Harris during the meeting.

The talk on Wednesday night delved into the protected classes under N.C.’s Fair Housing Act and the responsibilities tenants, landlords, real estate agents and anyone else involved in housing transactions had. The seven protected classes according to the law are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. There are a few protected classes that are not evident under the wording of the seven included in law. Sexual orientation and criminal status are just a few of the classes protected in addition.

In the case of disability, which was one of the main points discussed by Vann, protections are made to residents with either physical or mental disabilities. The Fair Housing Act defined a disability as a condition that limited an individual’s ability to perform a major life activity, such as learning, walking, breathing or sleeping. If someone has a disability, they can ask for reasonable accommodations to be made for them, such as installing grab bars in a shower or assigning a handicapped parking spot.

The other form of discrimination that was discussed in depth was discrimination against those with a criminal record. Troy noted that blanket policies discriminating against those with a criminal history are against the law. A landlord cannot declare that no criminals whatsoever are allowed to rent their property. The only exceptions to the rule are sex offenders and those with drug distribution charges.

Additionally, those with misdemeanor convictions are considered protected under the Fair Housing Act. The only criminal convictions that can be considered as reasons to not rent or sell to someone are felony convictions within the prior seven years.

Vann and Troy also gave information about how someone who feels they have discriminated against can proceed. A complaint can be filed with the Human Relations Commission, for information on how to do so call 980-236-1914. The Fair Housing Project of North Carolina can also assist residents with filing a complaint and the legal steps that follow the complaint. For more information on the Fair Housing Project call 1-855-797-3247 or by visiting its website at www.fairhousingnc.org.