Washington state has drawn anger over its new mortgage program that offers as much as $150,000 in assistance — but only if you’re of the right race.
The Covenant Homeownership Program, which launched on July 1, claims to combat racial discrimination by helping first-time homebuyers get a 0 percent interest loan for the down payment and closing costs.
But there’s a catch: you have to belong to a specific minority group to qualify.
Applicants must have an income equal to or less than the local median income and fall within certain minority categories, such as black, Latino or Native American. Whites and other groups are excluded.
The program also excludes other groups that have historically faced housing discrimination, such as Jewish people, because their website states that ‘data are limited when it comes to documenting the lasting effects of historical discrimination.’
The Covenant Homeownership Program, which launched on July 1, claims to combat racial discrimination by helping first-time homebuyers get a 0 percent interest loan for the down payment and closing costs.
Applicants must be at or below the local median income and fit into certain minority categories, such as Black, Latino or Native American, excluding white people.
The program, which stems from the state’s Covenant Homeownership Act of 2023, targets individuals with “deep roots” in Washington.
That means you’re related to someone who lived there before the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
“The Covenant Program’s initial eligibility criteria are intentionally narrow,” the Covenant Homeownership Program writes on its website. “While many racial, ethnic, and religious groups in Washington have experienced unjust and blatant housing discrimination, the Covenant Program not only recognizes that history, but also its current implications.”
‘Some of the groups that experience discrimination continue to show much lower rates of homeownership compared to the general white population. These are noted in the initial eligibility criteria. However, for other groups (such as Jewish residents), data are limited in documenting the lasting effects of historical discrimination.’
The state’s Housing Finance Commission, which is responsible for this racial balancing act, claims it is only trying to reduce “racial disparity in homeownership.”
But critics call it reverse discrimination.
“WTF? This is affirmative action for housing that most still can’t afford,” wrote one user on X.
The state’s Housing Finance Commission, which is charged with this racial balancing act, claims it’s just trying to reverse “racial disparities in homeownership.” But critics call it reverse discrimination.
Another angry user commented: ‘New homeownership assistance program for everyone except white people.’
“Thank you, @WaHouseGOP. You never let us down.”
Defenders of the program argue it is a necessary step to right historical wrongs.
But the site explains that the program “does not represent a formal attempt at reparations.”
“The Covenant Homeownership Act is a small attempt to remedy past and present discrimination and its impact on access to credit and homeownership for BIPOC and other historically marginalized communities in Washington state. It does not represent a formal reparations effort.”