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Watchdog agency works 'undercover' against housing discrimination
Project Sentinel aims to let Campbell tenants know their rights
By Genevieve Roja
According to Project Sentinel, a private, non-profit group that acts as a community watchdog for fair housing issues in the Bay Area, landlord/tenant relations in Campbell are uncommonly good. Between July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999, the group recorded only four instances of housing discrimination in the city of Campbell. Of the four cases, two deal with familial status (tenants with children), disability and national origin. Forty cases were logged for Santa Clara county this year. Typically, only 30 percent of the cases that Project Sentinel receives are cases supported by actual evidence gathered from site tests with landlords.
Eduardo Legorreta, who handles the cases for Campbell out of Project Sentinel's San Jose office, says that his Campbell caseload is manageable, but in general, such cases are never easy.
"I want to say we're doing a good job, but there are always cases out there," Ligaretta said. "A lot of people don't know their rights. People aren't even aware we're out here."
That's where Project Sentinel steps in. Founded in 1971 and funded locally by community development block grants (CDBG), Project Sentinel's goal is to ensure that prospective tenants are not discriminated against in their housing searches due to race, national origin, religion, disability or number of children.
The operation works fairly simply. Anyone who feels he or she has been discriminated against contacts the agency and is then connected with a fair housing counselor. If the counselor finds just cause, a phone test of the site is conducted. If the phone test stirs more suspicions, a site test is launched. Since Project Sentinel relies heavily on its testing methods to nab wayward landlords, details of the site test procedure remain guarded.
Mike, whose last name has been withheld for confidentiality purposes, has been a "control" tester for Project Sentinel for 13 years. He says he honestly cannot remember having any negative experiences with Campbell landlords. Then again, he says, there is little left to remember once the test is called in, written down and filed--after that it's off to the next test.
According to Ken Carroll, supervisor at the Project Sentinel Palo Alto office, testing is a form of investigating complaints that is recognized by the United States Supreme Court.
"We send two people out to see if they have received the same treatment so we can compare and refute," Carroll said.
Project Sentinel also serves San Francisco and San Mateo counties. It handles approximately 350-400 cases each year.
While Project Sentinel offers plenty of services in apartment owner/manager fair housing training and counseling services, Legorreta warns tenants to be mindful of how they are being treated. He recalls one instance when a landlord prohibited his tenant from placing his gym equipment in the garage. The landlord finally relented after he was informed that the equipment was for the tenant's rehabilitation. He was wheelchair-bound after having been in an accident. The tenant also had a doctor's note to validate his disability.
"The responsibility for asking for a reasonable accommodation should be made by a tenant," Legorreta said. "Once the reasonable accommodation ismade, the landlord must accept it."
Mike--who enlisted in Project Sentinel after learning about it from a colleague--says doing testing is well worth his time.
"I get my income from real estate sales," said Mike, who works in the real estate industry. "It's a good way of giving back to the community."
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Campbell, California
