The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988: The First Decade

Abstract

Thirty years ago, Congress enacted the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968, which out lawed for the first time private as well as public discrimination in housing. Twenty years later, Congress passed the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, a law that significantly expanded the scope of the original legislation and strengthened its enforcement mecha nisms. Like most important pieces of Federal legislation, the Fair Housing Act and the 1988 Amendments Act embody a series of careful compromises crafted by members of Congress.