Restrictive covenants were used to create segregated neighborhoods in the US, particularly affecting black and Asian Americans. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it illegal to enforce racially motivated covenants, but some neighborhood associations still use them to maintain property values. The Act also provides protections for people looking for properties to rent or buy. White flight occurred as a result of the Act, leading to the creation of segregated communities that still exist today.
In the 1960s, restrictive real estate covenants were used to create segregated neighborhoods in America, particularly in large cities like Chicago. These restrictive covenants were commonly accepted by many Americans until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The Civil Rights Act included the Fair Housing Act, which addressed housing discrimination, stating that it would be illegal to enforce racially motivated restrictive covenants. The Fair Housing Act has also provided a number of other protections to people looking for properties to rent or buy.
Before delving into how restrictive covenants have been used to enforce housing biases in America, it may be helpful to know what a restrictive covenant is. Essentially, restraining covenants are obligations that accompany a property. Most restrictive covenants focus on protecting property values in a neighborhood, so they include things like keeping a well-kept home. Some also focus on historic preservation, ensuring that new homeowners don’t cut down beloved neighborhood trees or other historically important structures and landscapes.
On the more sinister side of things, restrictive covenants are often used by neighborhood associations, and some neighborhood associations take those alliances to extremes. For example, homeowners may not be allowed to rent rooms in their home to non-family members, or they may be required to keep their cars in their garages. Some homeowners have begun to challenge such draconian restrictive settlements, arguing that they go beyond a desire to maintain basic property values in a neighborhood.
The most common racially motivated covenants in the United States affected black Americans. These pacts restricted the sale of land to whites only and specifically prohibited the leasing of such property to blacks. In areas such as California, with large Asian populations, restrictive agreements often denied Asians the rental or sale of homes.
People argued that such restrictive covenants were necessary to protect property values because they thought no one would like to live in a mixed neighborhood. The problem has been exacerbated by massive migration of black Americans into urban areas. Many of these people were skilled professionals who, understandably, wanted to buy or rent homes in good neighborhoods, and were rudely rebuffed by restrictive covenants hastily written into the property deeds. While not always as blatant as a “whites only” sign on a fountain, restrictive racial alliances were just as insidious and weren’t limited to the South.
Many people attempted to fight housing bias, often unsuccessfully, in the 1960s, and the passage of the Fair Housing Act created a powerful tool for activists. One result of the Fair Housing Act in some areas was “white flight,” as white Americans fled to the suburbs rather than take the chance to live next door to reputable black professionals. As a result, many formerly white neighborhoods began to be occupied exclusively by black Americans, creating segregated communities that survive to this day.
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