Long Island Communities Fight “Groupers,” Limit Number of Unrelated Individuals in Households
Several communities on Long Island, New York, it was reported on this day passed housing ordinances restricting the number of unrelated people who can live in one dwelling. The affected households were labeled “groupers.”
The resulting controversy raised new issues of fair housing, freedom of association, and the extent to which local communities can regulate housing conditions.
The battle over housing on Long Island went on for years. On August 3, 1972 a court blocked an attempt by one community from limiting the number of unrelated people who could live in one rental house.
Congress passed the federal Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968. The Supreme Court affirmed and strengthened the 1968 Fair Housing Act in a crucial decision on June 25, 2015.
Learn more: John Yinger, Closed Doors, Opportunities Lost: The Continuing Costs of Housing Discrimination (1995)
Learn about housing discrimination at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights:
http://www.civilrights.org/fairhousing/laws/housing-discrimination.html