Palm Beach County is stepping up its fight against housing discrimination and seeking assistance from the legal community.
The county's Office of Equal Opportunity has issued a Request for Proposals from Florida law firms to assist Palm Beach County residents. Officials are searching for firms experienced under the federal Fair Housing Act to represent those filing discrimination complaints.
These firms will guide individuals through potential litigation. The legal work includes navigating federal, state and local fair housing laws.
Firms must meet strict eligibility requirements and disclose any conflicts of interest.
This comes as a landmark county study found decades of discriminatory housing practices, from historic segregation to biased bank lending — factors that largely shape who can own a home and build wealth and drove homeownership gaps that were further exacerbated by the pandemic.
Local experts also said urgency for national action has increased following the disbanding of a key federal task force on racial bias in home appraisals.
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