In which case did the Supreme Court rule that housing organizations and testers are permitted to sue in racial steering cases?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Havens Realty Corp. v Coleman
• C. Shelly v. Kraemer
• D. Katz v. United States

Answer: (B)

Private enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and the use of testers to uncover discrimination are being tested here. Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman established that a private tester, acting like a prospective renter, can sue a housing agency for discriminatory practices under the FHA, including misrepresentation of vacancy availability and racial steering. The Court explained that the FHA creates a private right of action and that such private suits are a proper way to deter and remedy discriminatory housing practices. This includes organizational actors (like housing organizations) using testers to bring claims, since the law protects both individuals and groups who are harmed by discriminatory housing practices. The decision emphasizes that the goal of the FHA is to curtail discrimination and that private lawsuits are a legitimate and effective tool to expose and remedy these violations. The other cases involve different areas—education desegregation, enforcement of racially restrictive covenants, or privacy-related surveillance—and do not address private enforcement of housing discrimination through testers, so they don’t fit this context.