Become a Tester
The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan (FHCWM) furthers equal housing opportunity through educational and enforcement‐oriented programs based upon Title VIII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1968, commonly referred to as the Fair Housing Act. You can be an active part of such efforts by becoming a tester. In addition to being interesting and rewarding work, testing offers a practical means of putting open housing beliefs into actions that benefit our entire community.
What is a Tester?
As a tester, you play the role of a homeseeker – a person who is looking for a housing unit in which to live. Testers must be objective, careful observers, accurate reporters and truthful witnesses. Testers are paid a stipend for each test with mileage reimbursements.
What is Testing?
Testing is a term used to describe the process of checking the housing market to determine the nature and extent of discriminatory treatment practiced against various homeseekers. Two or more individuals, similar in every respect other than the variable being tested, are sent to the same sales or rental office. Testers keep careful notes as to what transpires, and then record their experience on a standard report form. Differences in the treatment of testers often form the basis for successful resolution of a housing discrimination complaint.
Why Testing?
The testing process has been consistently supported by federal courts as a legitimate and necessary method to identify practices of unlawful housing discrimination. In West Michigan, successful litigations filed by claimants have been based on evidence obtained by FHCWM testers.
