The Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that supports and encourages equal housing opportunities in the greater Detroit metropolitan area.

The Fair Housing Center is a membership-based organization. The Center was established in 1977 by community members who participated in a “Coalition to End Discrimination in Housing" under the leadership and guidance of Cliff Schrupp, the Center’s founder and first director. The Center is the oldest fair housing center in Michigan and one of the oldest fair housing centers in the nation. 

Cliff later authored the Local Fair Housing Center Organizing Project: Organizing Instructions and Materials, a guide that established approximately 20 fair housing centers throughout the United States.

The Fair Housing Center’s mission is to ensure equal access to housing without discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), familial status, disability, and all other protected class categories under federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws and ordinances. From 1977 to the present, the Center has strived to fulfill its mission by engaging in the following activities: providing assistance to individuals pursuing legal rights and remedies related to fair housing; offering housing assistance and counseling; providing community outreach, education, and fair housing training; and performing research in the area of housing.

To date, the Fair Housing Center has received over 8,000 complaints of fair housing violations. After investigating, the Center assisted in and initiated approximately 500 litigations, recovering over $12 million to remedy fair housing violations, as well as various forms of affirmative relief including the adoption of non-discriminatory policies and fair housing training. Notably, the Center has also helped thousands of others obtain the housing of their choice without the necessity of litigation. Indeed, many fair housing and landlord-tenant complaints are resolved after the Center informs housing providers and complainants as to what the law requires. 

The Center also provides answers to questions from owners, property management companies, and other housing providers (boards of condominium association or cooperative, public housing authorities, etc.) concerning fair housing compliance and best practices. 

Our office is located in the Samaritan Center. The Samaritan Center has a long history of serving the disadvantaged. The mission of the Samaritan Center is to provide a facility for a unique group of independent, community-based organizations.

As illustrated by the ceramic tile murals at the entrance to the Samaritan Center, the organizations working at the Samaritan Center provide healthcare, education, training, employment, and a host of other programs leading to economic development and self-sufficiency.