Complaint: California renters applying for assistance face discriminatory barriers
California’s pandemic rent relief program poses discriminatory barriers that keep certain people from obtaining assistance, Housing advocates say in a complaint filed last week.
Advocates requested in a letter that California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing investigate the state’s rent program administrator, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), citing repeated failure to provide meaningful language and disability access.
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, an organization focused on housing, immigration and labor rights, among other things, along with its Los Angeles chapter and the San Francisco Anti-Displacement Coalition, filed the complaint.
They further claim the rent application excludes people without adequate internet access.
In April, Chinese speakers navigating through the rent assistance website came across a Google-translated message reading, “Go back to your country, applicant,” according to a reporter from the World Journal, a U.S.-based Chinese language news organization. In the spring, the website also incorrectly renamed the “tenant” button as “landlord” when translating to Vietnamese, causing further confusion to a demographic that’s already navigating through multiple public assistance websites, states the complaint.
Both agencies declined to comment on the matter, stating in an email that the matter is still open.
Technological barriers, such as lack of internet access, were a common problem in California, with 92% of the state’s renters saying it blocked them from applying for assistance, according to a survey.
As 758,000 California households fall behind on rent, according to National Equity Atlas, a housing rights attorney with Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus said accessible rent relief is needed now.
“California has approved over $5 billion in rent relief to help families who are struggling to make ends meet,” Tiffany Hickey said in a press release. “Yet that funding and a Sept. 30 eviction moratorium extension do little to stop widespread devastation if people with disabilities, people who don’t speak English, or people without internet access can’t apply for assistance.”
Although the HCD has made some improvements, the complaint states some barriers remain. For example, the application is still only available in non-English languages through Google translate, which is prone to inaccuracies, grammatical errors and tones that can come off as offensive or childish, advocates say.
The website also is not compatible with screen readers, assistive devices for people who are blind or have low vision. Automated phone service also creates accessibility barriers for people with cognitive disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Advocates voice that there needs to be a place where people who don’t speak English, need an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter or want to use a video phone can call.
The organizations are asking that all online application portals, including paper applications, be translated and availability of language services be prominently displayed in language online. They request the HCD to develop a procedure for people with disabilities to request reasonable accommodations and make that information publicly available.
The organizations would also like to see an increase in phone line capacity to allow those who don’t want to apply via automated phone to get real-time language assistance. Furthermore, advocates want to put an end to machine translation without human review.
Tracy Douglas, registered legal services attorney with Bet Tzedek, a free legal service agency, has been helping Spanish-only speaking clients, who are older and lack computer skills, apply for rental assistance.
“The lack of clarity in the application process and unwillingness by HCD to prioritize outreach to and access for the most vulnerable Californians, reinforces the continuing systemic inequities that exclude them from necessary resources,” she said in the press release.
Even though machine translation is now provided in a few languages, Douglas said the process remains confusing and has already kept many people from applying and obtaining funds.
