Background
In the early part of the 20th century, discriminatory covenants barring the sale or lease of property based on race, ethnicity or religion were inserted in some property records as part of deeds, plats and covenants, conditions, and restrictions. Two decades after the landmark US Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer established racially restrictive covenants were unenforceable under the 14th Amendment, the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 made discriminatory covenants illegal and unenforceable.
Previously, there was no current model law or uniform legislative approach to address previously recorded discriminatory covenants that still exist in public land records, which resulted in state lawmakers considering one or more legislative approaches to address illegal and unenforceable discriminatory covenants in public land records. As of late 2023, the Uniform Law Commission has finalized a model approach to address this issue. Please find the act under state legislative tools below.
ALTA Position
ALTA is strongly opposed to any form of housing discrimination and is committed to proactively working toward solutions that protect the property rights of all homeowners.
Federal Legislation
ALTA has endorsed federal legislation introduced by Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) to fund the research and study of discriminatory covenants in land records.
State Legislative Tools
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Housing Discrimination: Addressing Illegal Covenants in Historic Land Records
- ULC Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act
Discriminatory Covenants Articles
Webinar Recording: Understanding the Painful Past of Discriminatory Covenants
Racial and discriminatory covenants can be found in the property records of American communities across the country. While no longer enforceable, the remnants of these discriminatory policies remain. Listen to this webinar recording to learn about the organizations tracking and mapping discriminatory covenants. Find out how the title and records industries can collaborate in identifying discriminatory covenants and help property owners address them.
Discrimination Seeps into Every Aspect of Homebuying for Black Americans
A Black loan applicant in the United States is more than twice as likely to be denied a home mortgage as a white applicant, aggravating the homeownership gap between Black and white Americans, according to a new report.
Scouring 84 million Pages of Santa Clara County Property Records for Historic Discrimination
A new state law requiring property records be scrubbed of racist covenants will cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars. Supporters say it’s worth it.
Riverside County to Use First American Solution to Detect Discriminatory Covenants
The County of Riverside Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder’s office selected First American Data & Analytics CovenantGuard solution to help identify and redact unlawful discriminatory restrictive covenants in county recorded real estate documents.